The Connections Among Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Aggravated Murder - A Case Study of Montenegro

Abstract

In this paper, the authors investigated the connections among the criminal offences of the unauthorised production, possession, and distribution of narcotics, money laundering, and aggravated murder in the context of the conflict between two opposing criminal organisations in Montenegro. The study aims to determine the essential elements of these illegal behaviours and establish effective prevention and control mechanisms. The sample includes all 46 registered cases of aggravated murder committed by professional criminals in the period 2015-2020 as a result of drug smuggling and money laundering. The results of the study show that 30 of the aggravated murders (65.2%) were solved, the scene of the crime was most often a car (14 cases, or 30.4%), most murders (eight cases, or 17.3%) were committed in January, murders occur most often on Mondays (13 cases, or 28%), and the time between 17:00 and 18:00 is when most crimes are committed (nine cases, or 19.5%). The murders were most often committed by firearm discharge (30 cases, or 65.2%) and at a distance of 0-5 metres in 14 homicides (46.6%), while the means of execution was predominantly Heckler & Koch automatic rifles - used in 13 murders (28.2%) - and the victims were mostly aged 30-40 years old (18 cases, or 39.1%). During the observed period, 27.26 tons of cocaine worth several billion euros was seized, whose unauthorised production and distribution were organised by these crime groups, who altogether paid about _890,000 for the murder of rivals. The conclusions of this paper imply that an in-depth research analysis is required to find out the patterns, dynamics, and characteristics of criminal activities. The findings are a basis for a potentially more efficient reaction to these serious forms of crime.