The trial in the “Tunnel” case continued on the June 3rd, after the main hearing was interrupted the previous day. The interruption occurred because one of the accused, Marijan Vuljaj, did not appear at the Basic Court in Podgorica where the proceedings are held.
During the resumed hearing, Judge Borko Lončar issued several requests to the competent authorities. Among other things, he reiterated the order for a construction expert report to confirm how the tunnel to the High Court in Podgorica was dug, and whether the amount of excavated soil and material could fit inside it. The judge had requested this expert report during the investigation but without results. Additionally, Lončar requested from the Ministry of Internal Affairs the report from the Diversion Protection Group, which examined the tunnel using technical equipment.
Furthermore, those present at the hearing had the opportunity to review video and photo evidence showing the persons who allegedly dug the tunnel to the High Court’s storage, the vehicle used during the break-in, and apartments where the accused stayed. All accused, except Vladimir Erić, stated that they did not recognize the persons shown in the footage.
Defense lawyers argued that the shown footage, allegedly depicting the accused, is legally invalid since it consists of surveillance camera recordings filmed by a phone.
To recall, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the indictment in January against Montenegrin citizens Predrag Mirotić, Katarina Baćović, and Nikola Milačić, as well as Serbian citizens Veljko Marković, Milan Marković, Dejan Jovanović, and Vladimir Erić. They are charged with digging a 30-meter-long tunnel in July 2023 from the basement of a residential building to the storage of the High Court in Podgorica, which they entered on September 8th. The storage contains evidence from cases that are ongoing or concluded at that court. Among the accused is also Marijan Vuljaj, who allegedly helped Baćović to hide.
The motive and those who ordered the court break-in remain unknown, but the investigation established that weapons (19 pieces), several mobile phones, and a small amount of drugs were stolen from the storage. These are evidentiary materials from cases conducted or previously conducted in the High Court. So far, it has not been disclosed whether and how the theft of the evidence affected the specific cases and whether the material has been recovered.
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