Podgorica, (MINA) – Police officers have successfully secured about 40 public gatherings and events across Montenegro, organized to mark the 20th anniversary of the restoration of independence, the Police Administration announced, stating that only one minor incident was recorded in Podgorica.

 

The police said that all available and necessary organizational structures, personnel and material and technical resources were fully engaged. They added that intelligence data was collected and processed in a timely manner.

 

“All public gatherings held on Thursday passed without major incidents. Only one minor incident was recorded in Podgorica”, the press release said.

 

 

 

The police stated that an unidentified individual, who is being searched for, towards the end of Ricky Martin’s performance on Thursday evening in Podgorica, activated tear gas near the stage with the intention of causing panic, which did not result in injuries of material damage.

 

The police added that, together with the organizer, they brought the situation under control and the concert resumed after three minutes.

 

They added that they are underway to identify and prosecute the person who activated the tear gas.

 

“Through intelligence work, carried out in a timely manner, the police administration had obtained information that the central celebration in Podgorica would be the target of hybrid threats by criminal structures, with the aim of causing panic and disorder, triggering further incidents, as well as destabilization of police operations and the overall public peace and order”, the press release says.

 

The police stated that timely police activities, carried out at all levels, successfully neutralized these hybrid threats.

 

They added that it is suspected that the activation of the tear gas was part of those hybrid activities, and that they are working intensively to shed light on the incident.