Cars Burned in Explosion in Podgorica

Police in Montenegro are investigating the damage in an effort to determine whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or if the cars were set on fire with gasoline, and who is responsible.

The explosion, which occurred around 3am early Tuesday morning in Ilije Plamenca Street in the outskirts of Podgorica, left two cars completely burned, while six vehicles in the same parking lot were damaged.

Darko Lakovic, whose Audi was completely destroyed in the fire, told Podgorica daily Vijesti that he believes that the explosion was a warning to him.

He told media that he considered it a warning from someone in Serbia, as about a year and a half ago he had a conflict with a person from Belgrade whom he declined to name. Lakovic did not explain what was behind the conflict.

In April last year, a court in Podgorica sentenced Darko Lakovic to one year in prison over extortion.

The court found him guilty, along with Milic Sakovic, of trying to extort €10,000 from Sasa Maksimovic from Podgorica in November 2010.

Lakovic has appealed the verdict and the appeals trial is ongoing.