Police stopped Predrag Koluvija for reckless driving on the Belgrade-Nis highway on 13 November 2019 and detained him over a suspected fake police ID; the same day officers raided his Jovanjica organic farm near Stara Pazova.[1][2] The Interior Ministry said nine people were detained and almost four tons of marijuana seized in one of the country’s biggest such swoops.[3] Officers found 649.4 kg of dried marijuana and 65,581 raw stems, with a total weight of 3,954 kg, in tunnels and growing laboratories beneath the organic farm.[3][1] They also seized two handguns, a falsified police ID card and a car fitted with police markings.[3]
Organised-crime charges and a state scandal
Koluvija and eight associates were charged with organising a criminal group and providing equipment for the lab, facing up to ten years in prison.[1] Police and security officials were also arrested over links to the farm, including the head of security of a former police director and anti-corruption and criminal-police officers, causing a major scandal for the government.[1] Prosecutors later split the case into Jovanjica 1, on the marijuana production itself, and Jovanjica 2, on alleged state-security links to the farm.[2]
