Serbia Arrests Alleged Balkan Drug Lord

Kosmajac was arrested in his home in Belgrade on Sunday, alongside seven other people who work with him, on suspicion of tax evasion and other offences.

"We have focused on the things that we can prove immediately; these are related to financial misdeeds, properties for which there are no legal origins or accurate property tax declarations. This opens a window to investigate and prove other things," said Serbian interior minister Nebojsa Stefanovic .

Stefanovic compared Kosmajac's case with the FBI investigation into 1930s gangster Al Capone, who was also prosecuted for tax evasion.

"We worked very thoroughly and carefully to gather evidence that would be sufficient to have property seized," he added.

All eight suspects have been remanded in custody for 48 hours while they are questioned, then a judge will rule on any further detention orders.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic denounced Kosmajac in dramatic terms at a press conference on June 20 when he announced the dismissal of all Serbia's police chiefs because of their alleged failure to fight narcotics cartels.

"Everyone is keeping quiet about contacts between police and Kosmajac. I have called for action to be taken against him but this has not been done, to this day," Vucic said.

After this denunciation, Kosmajac fled Serbia and entered Montenegro on a Slovakian passport.

Montenegrin police detained him in the resort of Kotor on suspicion of forging documents in July, but released him because they said they had no basis for holding him.

A Serbian Interior Ministry white paper also listed Kosmajac as one of the major drug traders in the country as far back as 2001.