By Sara Kovač
In January, the police completed an extensive investigation into an internationally organized criminal group that supplied banned substances to the Slovenian and foreign markets. In the final operation, they seized 120 kilograms of amphetamine, several kilograms of cocaine and heroin, illegal weapons, several thousand ecstasy tablets and large amounts of cash. The leader of the criminal group, Aleš Zupančič, was caught and protester Anis Ličina, who was detained by the police last Thursday because of his role in the Thursday’s violent protest in Ljubljana, was also among those involved. Ličina later became a “protester” for RTV, reporting on the situation on the ground, but it is not entirely clear why the public television is silent about his past.
The Požareport portal reported today that, according to an expert in intelligence and security affairs, the criminal underground, which was left without lucrative deals during the crisis, protested against the government. This explains the violence at the Thursday’s protest. Among the informal organizers is also the infamous criminal and old acquaintance of the police, Anis Ličina, who scandalously became a kind of “star” of the national television RTV.
The Tednik show did not even mention that Ličina had already caused riots at previous protests, when he escaped from the police during his detention and posted his escape. But RTV does not mention his criminal career. Ličina was involved in a gas station robbery in the past – he beat up a gas station employee – and participated in an illegal migrant smuggling association. But he is most infamous for participating in an international drug cartel.
Ličina was involved in a drug trafficking affair
In January, Slovenian criminal investigators completed a more than two-year investigation into an organized criminal group involved in drug trafficking in Slovenia and abroad. An internationally organized criminal group was first detected in Slovenia, but when it was discovered that this group was connected with certain persons from Croatia, the investigation expanded across borders. In the final operation, the police seized large quantities of drugs – they found over 120 kilograms of amphetamine, several kilograms of cocaine and heroin, and several thousand ecstasy tablets. They also seized several pieces of illegal weapons and over 150 thousand euros in cash.
During the investigation, 20 people were detained, 18 of whom were brought before an investigating judge. According to the head of the Organized Crime Department, Stojan Belšak, most of the main actors already had a criminal history, some of whom had already been tried for drug offences, property crimes and crimes with elements of violence. The peculiarity of this company was mainly that it produced amphetamine in “unlimited quantities,” reported 24ur portal.
Aleš Zupančič headed the criminal group, Ličina was also involved
Večer reported that the head of the entire international criminal group was Slovenian Aleš Zupančič, known by the nickname Bazenar, from Most pri Komendi, who was sentenced in May 2018 to two years in prison for drug trafficking. Anis Ličina was also involved in this criminal group. Ličina publicly called on everyone to protest violently in Ljubljana on Thursday and shouted at the police at Friday’s protest: “This is our city! Go back to your villages in your mothers’ p*ssies! What do you want? What the f**k do you want? What do you want? Tell me, what do you want? Will somebody tell what you want? What the f**k do you want?”