A county court investigating judge in Velika Gorica on Saturday remanded Serbian criminal Milovan Zdravković in extradition custody, acting on an Interpol warrant issued by Serbia, and if the necessary documentation is provided in a timely manner, he could stay in custody until his extradition.

“He is wanted by Serbia on charges of drug trafficking, organised crime and aggravated murder. He is also wanted by the Swiss Confederation, where he should serve a five-year prison sentence due to aggravated theft,” court spokeswoman Ivana Bilušić told the RTL broadcaster.

The investigating judge ruled on custody under the Act on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and now deadlines will be sought from Serbia through the Justice Ministry to determine if there is a request for extradition, until which time Zdravković will stay in custody.

If within the next 40 days the court is provided with the necessary documentation and the Council of the County Court in Velika Gorica decides that conditions for extradition have been met, Zdravković could stay in custody until his extradition, the spokeswoman said, but noted that for the time being, it was not clear if he would be extradited to Serbia or Switzerland, and that the final decision on the matter would be made by the justice minister.

When asked about the arrest of Zdravković, one of the leaders of the infamous Kavački clan, and the claims by Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić that he was arrested in Croatia on a Serbian warrant, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Saturday he didn’t know what Minister Dačić said.

“This person was extradited to Croatia on the basis of a European arrest warrant. After the investigation was completed here, in relation to the charges brought by the Croatian institutions, on the day he was released from custody he was arrested on an Interpol warrant issued by Serbia,” Božinović said.

According to media reports, the Croatian authorities wanted Zdravković for using a forged Croatian passport which he had obtained back in 2018 based on the false identity of a Serb who had previously left Croatia.

Zdravković was arrested in Spain a month ago and transferred to Croatia at the end of September. He had waited for a trial on passport forgery charges for two weeks, and after pleading guilty, he was given a conditional prison sentence and was fined.