In the north illegal pumps operate smoothly

Despite control at border points in Jarinje and Brnjak, smuggling with goods and derivatives is continuing in this part of Kosovo. Cars and billboardless trucks that smuggle goods from Serbia by leaving state tax, move freely to northern Mitrovica.

Public television was a witness when police stopped a truck carrying smuggled goods, which the same on the show's information had been released in a few hours.

But are criminal groups really as powerful in an area as small as the State cannot neutralize?

That question will certainly remain unanswered for a long time!

Sources say crime and smuggling in northern Mitrovica leads powerful and influential people. Their names are already public secrets.

Everything that happens in this part has an address, this address is Zvonko Veselinovic. The latter, based on information owned by public television, controls the black businesses that develop in this part of Kosovo. Zvonko's right-hand wing, according to information, is his friend Milan Rajdocchiq.

“Every segment of life is controlled by Zvonko Vesilnovic and the criminal groups he has led since the sale of cigarettes, oil derivatives vehicles, namely. Nothing can pass unless controlled by his hand to delegate anyone else who normally goes to him”, says Agim Musliu.

What brings most profits to these illegal businesses is smuggling derivatives. In the northern part of Mitrovica, according to our information, there are 37 pumps or gas stations operating illegally.

Among these 37 illegal pumps are three of the company “NIS Petrol” “Oil Industry Serbia”, once “Yugo Petrol”, is the largest derivative company in Serbia. Based on information on this company's website, it is said that after a financial crisis, the Serbian state in 2008, 56 percent had sold it to the Russian company, “Gazprom Neft”.

In the “manual NIS Petroli” sees points in which countries this company operates. Company representatives have been careful not to identify the three points found within the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

The operation of the company “Nis Petrol” in northern Kosovo constitutes violations of Kosovo's embargo.

On September 17th 2014, the Kosovo government had imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation. A number of companies and persons specifically banned from business in Kosovo were even listed in the Kosovo government's decision. Among the companies to which sanctions were imposed is the company “Gazprom Neft”

But surprisingly, this company is already present on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

The show team “North Mitrovica has visited the three points, and one in Zubin Potok municipality.

The source, which has wanted to remain anonymous, has stated that Zvonko Veselinovic and Milan Radojciq unofficially manage the pumps of “Nis Petrolit”.

Two years ago, a few metres from the Kosovo Police station in the north, Kosovo office director Marko Djuric had challenged the state of Kosovo by entering without permission to inaugurate these illegal pumps on Kosovo territory.

Brussels was even alarmed on this issue. Edita Tahiri was the first to speak out against these illegal pumps.

It's true I've alarmed for these pumps NIS Petroleum, which, according to information I have, is in a way pumps that sell Russian fuels. This is not only a problem of illegal intervention of Serbia but is a bigger problem than that because we are all witnesses to Russia's geopolitical ambitions in the Balkans and the attitudes of the Balkan states, including Kosovo, to maintain the Western Euro-Atlantic orientation and not allow any interference of Russia's influence in this region”, Tahiri has said.

Former Pristina-Belgrade dialogue representative Edita Tahiri says that even at the time of the talks, it has been discussed closing, but changing governments has made this decision not implemented.

Then I have officially notified the MTI”, Tahiri said, while stressing that “MTI has immediately taken steps, in the sense it has sent a team to observe the situation, so to prove the situation as well as at that time the ministry has been extending demand to Government to make it stop even through the use of law enforcement mechanisms, but change of government took place. You need to talk to the minister to see why the job hasn't stopped, but my final word is that these pumps should be closed, not because of Serbia, but because of Russia's influence in Kosovo”, it has been expressed.

That there are pumps operating illegally and without license on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo and the Minister of Trade and Industry Bajram Hasani accepts it.

There are 37 points thought to be without a license and reportedly operating in the northern part of Mitrovica. According to the data we have from the inspectors, three of them you're specifically telling about the firm NIS Petrolʹ, is a similar case of 37 others. We also have official information that most of these gas stations are supplied by the rest of Kosovo, but after solving this problem as far as the license is concerned, we can take measures that our companies don't sell as much as companies that don't have license”, Hasani said.

Minister Hasani, however, is reluctant to declare that company “NIS Petrol” operates illegally in Kosovo, without any license.

We can't literally talk about each or other. These may be registered as businesses but they don't have relevant licenses, namely, this as a firm we're saying is probably not recorded at all”, the minister said, while he argued that “we don't have specific information about ]Nis Petrolin”.