In early February, a large mafia group led by Veljko Belivuk, known as Velja Nevolja, was arrested in Serbia. 

According to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, this group was arrested because they were burdened with criminal acts such as murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking. 

According to Serbian media, a heavy arsenal of weapons was found at the place of arrest, up to the meat grinder, which, from the first suspicions of the justice authorities, may have served for the disappearance of the bodies of the victims. 

However, many security analysts have linked the group's arrest to other motives. Security analyst Agim Musliu says that Serbia is becoming Europe Cuba by the Russians and that this country is in difficult security moments. 

"Serbia is becoming the Cuba of Europe when it comes to Russian influence in the Western Balkans. Also, in Serbia, but also in the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russian interests are intertwined. "Russia, in principle, uses criminal groups wherever they exist to threaten anyone who might upset them," Agim Musliu told the Telegraph. 

The director of the Institute for National and International Security, Darko Trifunovic, told Serbian media that although the criminal group may once have been linked to the government in Serbia, he is convinced that the group was positioned against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic himself. 

"Members of this criminal group have been present in the demonstrations of July 2020 at the Assembly of Serbia. "No one can say that their presence there was to support Vucic," Trifunovic said.

For Musliu, Belivuk was also used by the government in Serbia. "The working methodology of the Russian intelligence services, even according to what we have seen in Montenegro, is that they are widely used by criminal groups. Through them, they try to eliminate from the political scene people who do not depend on Russia. Veljko Belivuk has also been used by the government in Serbia, but this does not mean that they, as soon as they see a large amount of money, will not change their collaborator", said Musliu. 

According to him, it is still not well known whether Vucic has started any disagreement with the Kremlin. 

"It is known that Vucic has the main partner Vladimir Putin in relation to the issue of Kosovo. However, this does not make Vucic completely credible to Putin. The official Kremlin does not want anyone as a partner if it has ambitions to integrate into the European Union. The criminal, who was arrested in February in Ritopek near Belgrade, was the leader of Partizan fans. In Serbia, according to tradition, fan groups are led by criminals. We remember Arkan who led Zvezda fans. All of them have been known for slogans against Kosovo and NATO. As a reward, the Serbian secret services have allowed them to deal with crimes and are mainly known as drug dealers," he added. 

Musliu explains that those people who perform these services work for large sums of money. 

"Maybe the Russians, despite not having much money, this time offered them more than Vucic ?! This is an issue for which we have to wait a little longer. I am not sure that even if such pro-Russian links are found with the criminal group, Serbia will make them known. However, in Serbia, Russia has a hand in criminal groups," Musliu concluded. 

Veljko Belivuk, also had support from the security organs in Serbia regarding criminal activity. Meanwhile, members of the law enforcement agencies have been arrested, who are suspected of having assisted him in criminal activity. Belivuk and 21 other members were remanded in custody on three counts of murder, drug trafficking and possession of weapons.

(Source: Telegrafi)