During one of the hearings Šarić spoke about the book being part of a negative media campaign against him, but emphasized that the author wasn’t impassioned when he wrote it.
“Have you ever heard that a book about an accused person being published while he was still on trial? The process is not yet finished and the writer decided to use my grief to prove himself and to help the prosecutor. He wasn’t impassioned, though, as some other journalists tend to be. Tell me if this is right! You saw how the book was advertised – it said the cocaine was smuggled and the gang was broken, as if it were all true and this trial was over” Šarić said to the judges.
Šarić denied being present at a meeting in Italy during which a criminal conspiracy was allegedly hatched, as mentioned in the book.
“In order to strengthen the testimony of cooperating witness Nebojsa Joksovic, the prosecutor refers to meeting in Livigno– that is of great importance to him. Italian police followed his witness and no one saw me there with him. In spite of that I was labelled as the organizer. The crucial evidence, as it is also stated in the book, is a return ticket from Milan. I would like to have that ticket – if it exists. No one knows where I’ve been better than me” said Šarić.
The author of the book Šarić Stevan Dojcinovic said his knowledge about the meeting was based on the information received from the Italian police.
The book Šarić, published by Samizdat B92 and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), describes how cocaine operations were organized, how money was laundered, how the criminal group forged links in politics and with the police, and finally what information the prosecution has on Darko Šarić.