Konaković: If any contact with the cartel is established, I would have to flee BiH

(Patria) – The Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH and President of NIP Elmedin Konaković held a press conference today where he spoke about the connection of his name with the Tito and Dino drug cartel, and about which Dutch and BiH media have also written.

Given that Istraga.ba yesterday published an "unqualified" EUROPOL scheme on which Elmedin Konaković's name is also listed and connected with people from the Tito-Dino cartel, Konaković announced that he will be in constant contact with EUROPOL to resolve this issue. He confirmed that he had been to Dubai several times at his own expense, but also that at the beginning of 2021, a group of people close to NIP received an invitation to visit Dubai with his family, but he never went on that trip, although he did send his family's passport numbers.

"A group of citizens living in the UAE contacted us with the idea of inviting the leadership of NIP, with me at the head, to visit the institutions of the Emirates. I said the idea is excellent. They just need to send us an official invitation. No invitation ever came, and we never went there," said Konaković, adding that he does not know if there were communications between them (the cartel) to bring him there, nor is he interested.

"We will ask Europol to determine if the scheme is authentic, if it exists at all, and let them say which policeman is working so sloppily and superficially. I don't want to believe in conspiracy theories. I want to know if this is the work of Osman Mehmedagić and these FUP members and if this story originated from them," he said.

He said that his movements can be easily determined and that police agencies can do it immediately.

"I think Dubai is one of the most modern destinations and they have built a security system, and it is impossible for an individual not to leave a trace. Everyone can say, give us his movements," he said.

He also spoke about the repercussions on the EU path, stating that it is not good when the Minister of Foreign Affairs is connected to a drug cartel.

"When it goes to Holland, when it is in Berlin and Brussels, I carry the burden of relations with drug cartels, it affects the entire country and the future of our children. If they find a trace of my communication with them, I would never stand before you again," he said.

When asked if he provided his and his family's passport numbers, Konaković confirmed that NIP sent the passport numbers, but he never received an official invitation for the trip and did not travel in March 2021, but went to Dubai in November of that year at his own expense.

Konaković did not want to answer the question about which "avdići, švrakići, numanovići, alispahići" he mentioned in his posts, emphasizing that he would not "hide behind the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs but would settle them personally on FB".

He said that if it is confirmed that he had any contact with the cartel, he would resign and would have to flee the country.