Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, denied allegations of ties to the “Tito and Dino” drug gang. He claims that he is the target of certain media close to the former regime, and that he will resign if any of the allegations incriminating his name are proven.
The EUROPOL document is circulating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. to the media. The “Tito and Dino” drug cartel scheme reveals a line from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Dubai. Among them, at the top is Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A cause for suspicion and serious accusations in the media. Therefore, Konaković answered publicly. He denies all allegations.
“The scheme that appeared, and which is consumed by some BiH media in which it is said that I met with the first man, the namesake, of this cartel is a notorious lie, easily verifiable”, says Konaković.
Along with the categorical rejection of all media announcements in which he was given a leading role, Konaković submits the first evidence in his favor. But the evidence presented is not valid, according to Avdo Avdić, author of the text and editor of the Istraga.ba portal, where the drug cartel scheme was published.
“I have verdicts from the courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina that say in some of the cases against these people who write this and their media: The court determines in Bosnia and Herzegovina that I have been a direct target of those media for a long time,” Konaković points out.
“If he has a judgment that he received, where it was judged that I defamed him, I would like him to publish it. There is no such thing. The only thing that exists is that the court found that my allegations about the theft of televisions from Skenderija, which he did then as the director of a private company, were true,” says Avdić.
Exclusive in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s media, created by the chain transmission of the same information, for Konaković is an attack on the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which at this moment could cost Bosnia and Herzegovina and cause problems in European integration. There is no evidence of a connection with a drug group, he claims. While all trips to Dubai can be substantiated with plane tickets and hotel receipts. He considers the invitation from the Arab Emirates to be the occasion for a story in which he is presented as the head of a drug gang.
“In 2021 At the beginning of the year, through people who are close to NiP, a group of citizens living in the United Arab Emirates contacted the headquarters of NiP with the idea of inviting the leadership of NiP, headed by me, to an official visit to the institutions of the Emirates. They say, they invite you there with your families, I say: great. They just need to send us – the way it is normally done – an official invitation from the Emirate institutions, after which we will be very happy to travel. There was never an official invitation from the institutions of the Emirates, none, never, and we never went there,” Konaković points out.
“He didn’t deny anything, he actually just referred to certain allegations. First, he admits that a group of citizens from Dubai came to his office, that this group of citizens is close to NIP and that they arranged to go to Dubai. Did I say that or did Minister Konaković say that? Let’s go further, to the direct question of whether he sent the passport numbers of himself and his family – he also did not deny that. And I have proof that you sent it,” says Avdić.
Konaković says that he will ask EUROPOL for the authenticity of the document in order to establish the truth. Is he really at the top of an organized drug group or is he just a victim of the judicial-media mafia.
“There is obviously a faller in this story, there are people who are not doing well – either me or them. In order to clear this up, we will communicate with EUROPOL on a daily basis. We will ask all their bosses, commanders, and operatives to investigate that story,” concludes Konaković.
While Konaković is at the disposal of the competent institutions, this story will undoubtedly continue because Avdić will soon announce new evidence. If the claims prove to be true, Konaković is ready to resign from the position he currently holds.
