Zoran Zaev’s adviser Bojan Maricic’s allegations that Interior Minister Nake Culev allegedly endangered international police action with a premeditated anti-cocaine raid was the reason to investigate what actually happened during the police raid on Wednesday afternoon, the Netpress news portal reported.

As Netpress writes, it is notable that during the police raid on social media there were reports that a police raid was underway in Saraj and that the target was cocaine. Shortly thereafter, pro-government media reported that 1.3 tonnes of cocaine had been seized, to lower expectations later on. It is very realistic to expect that the action was breached and that someone was deliberately misinforming the public, the news portal said.

According to the news portal information from the Ministry of Interior, the source of the constant briefings, first on social media and then in pro-government media outlets, was Slavjanka Petrovska, the additional Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Interior from SDSM ranks. There is no official information and it remains an enigma where she was during the operation, but what we unofficially found out is that she was in the vicinity of the Interior Ministry with a police chief close to SDSM at the time of the operation.

The information was first briefed on social media, and immediately afterward it was taken over by pro-government media. The information was a half-truth, but what was alarming was that sensitive information came out during the operation, which put the lives of the police officers involved in the operation at risk. Rapid and efficient operation is not permissible, but the risk was high because police movements have been exposed all the time with the leaking of information. Maricic’s accusations are practically used as a buffer to hide the fact that Petrovska, for small political points, attempted to ruin the operation of her superior, Minister Culev, but also put the lives of police officers involved in the operation at risk.

Will anyone be held accountable for leaking sensitive police information during the operation?, Netpress asks.