Montenegro arrests ex-top prosecutor, police chief over abuse of office

"This action is a result of a months-long coordinated cooperation among the Special State Prosecution, the Special Police Department and Europol on a daily basis," Saranovic told local broadcaster TV Vijesti on Sunday evening.

Lazovic is a former deputy chief of the national police department tasked with fighting organised crime.

Prime minister Milojko Spajic said in a statement on Sunday that the arrest of Katnic and Lazovic shows the level of infiltration of organised crime into state institutions made possible during the years in power of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of Montenegrin leader Milo Djukanovic.

"It is therefore very important for the current government via creating legal and practical conditions to clearly discontinue the former practice and to really make our country a European state, i.e. free of the plague of crime and corruption that had been with us for decades," said Spajic.

In August 2020, DPS won Montenegro's general election with a narrow margin ahead of opposition coalition For the Future of Montenegro. Subsequently, DPS went into opposition after being in power for almost 30 years. Its leader Milo Djukanovic continued to serve as head of state until April 2023 when he was defeated in a presidential run-off by pro-EU former economy minister Jakov Milatovic.

The government led by Milojko Spajic took office in October 2023, after his Europe Now party won by a slim margin the parliamentary elections in June 2023. The government, which also includes pro-Russian and pro-Serbian parties, has listed as its main goal the acceleration of the process of Montenegro's EU accession, which includes resolving judicial system issues and fighting organised crime and high-level corruption.

Montenegro was granted an EU candidate status in December 2010. Its current leaders target EU membership in 2028.