It was through him that Kokeza participated in the importation of goods that no one could control at the entrance to Serbia, for which the organized group earned tens of millions of euros.
– Kokeza and Popović really connected through football. The FSS is the umbrella organization of the Belgrade Football Association, where Popović is the vice president, so the two began to work closely together, first in relation to sports … But, little by little, in a short time developed a real scheme for customs scams, says the Courier source, adding:
– They were organized in such a way that trucks and lorries enter Serbia, without anyone knowing what is being imported, nor have these goods passed through customs. In this way, his group amassed millions of euros, both for the value of the merchandise and for the fact that no customs duties were paid to the State. It was also known exactly in which warehouses the goods were kept at the Belgrade customs. No one was allowed to touch them. By the way, to somehow thank his partner, Kokeza took Popović and his people to football matches abroad for free.
Our interlocutor adds that Popović was cheerful and dressed in customs for years, so nothing could be done without his approval. – For many years he was at the Vršac Customs, where he was born. He then served in the Customs Administration, as head of the Intelligence Department and head of the Local Intelligence Department. He has been a customs manager in Belgrade since 2016 and is widely known in business circles as the alpha and omega of illegal imports, our interlocutor said, adding that Popović was recently replaced. It is interesting that the director of the Customs Administration, Miloš Tomić, has recently been replaced.
photo: Damir Dervišagić
Belgrade lawyer Ivan Ninić believes for Kurir that Kokeza, by the nature of his role in the FSS, was certainly capable of exchanging influence in various ways and “making money for himself and others”.
Influence trade
– Let the FSS publish data on how many famous names from the judiciary, police and customs traveled the world for free during Kokeza’s term. Now, it is questionable which of all this is criminal and legally debatable, and which one is immoral, and when it all owed various benefits. The best contacts are made in the VIP boxes of the stadium, because there are judges, prosecutors, policemen, bankers, businessmen, the mafia … There you will see people who have never kicked the ball in their lives, but who stop for the game to finish a combination – says Ninic.
Parallel customs
Velja Nevolja and Kekin’s associate are on the team
photo: Mondo / Stefan Stojanović
As Kurir wrote in the days before, the grand robbery at the Customs Administration, which is suspected to have been carried out by people close to Kokezi, but also criminal clans, is under scrutiny by investigators. It is suspected that the group created a “parallel customs” and thus allowed the shipments to enter Serbia without anyone controlling them. Operational information, which is still being collected, indicates that Kokeza was involved in the crime, which caused tens of millions of euros in damage to the state, but also recently detained Veljko Belivuk, aka Velja Nevolja, as well as Aleksandar Nesovic Baja, otherwise. one of the closest associates of the group Dejan Stojanović Keka.
