Organized Crime and Coruption Project

Serbian fugitive Darko Šarić is hiding in South Africa protected by local mafia and corrupt police, according to the Daily Voice, a South African newspaper [who misspell his name but use his photo].

He is living under a pseudonym in the province of Gauteng, which contains the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg, according to a whistleblower who calls himself “Uncle Sam.”

Šarić , virtually unknown until October 2009 is now one of the world’s most sought after criminals after Interpol seized more than two tons of cocaine near the Uruguayan coast in an operation dubbed “Balkan Warrior.” Serbian authorities say he heads a major drug trafficking network from South Africa to Europe, and estimates that he made more than €1 billion annually.  Šarić’s assets in Serbia have been seized but he allegedly still owns real estate in Montenegro.

Šarić is not the only Serb who has sought anonymity and protection in South Africa: Last week, the Daily Voice reported that the informant told them that Serbian hitman Dobrosav Gavric, convicted of assassinating Serb paramilitary leader Arkan and two others, spent three years living in Cape Town under the protection of murdered gangster Cyril Beeka.

The paper reports that Uncle Sam, 65, is on the run after a disagreement with mob superiors  indirectly connected to Beeka’s murder last March and to the protection of the two Serbian fugitives.  He admits running a luxury car fraud network that went awry and threatens to use a 116-page diary detailing information about the South African mafia if his enemies threaten him.

“I need to warn the public that the mafia is running the country with the help of cops and top politicians and that they have ruthless killers who will take out anyone who threatens them,” he told the Daily Voice.

The reports comes as South Africa struggles to overcome perceptions that it is a haven for international organized crime figures.  Former South African police chief Jackie Selebi was convicted of corruption in July 2010 after his relationships with organized crime figures were exposed.  Selebi served as president of Interpol from 2004-2008.