The Ukrainian cargo plane Antonov 12, which was carrying weapons from Serbia to Bangladesh when it crashed in Greece several days ago, was connected to the company "Valir", which is controlled by well-known Balkan arms dealer Slobodan Tesic. According to new information obtained by Nova.rs, the company responsible for the transport of weapons from the Nis airport to Bangladesh was "BA-metalexport d.o.o" from Istocno Novo Sarajevo in Bosnia.

Eight crew members were killed when a plane crashed in Greece on the night of July 16 near the city of Kavala. The plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of military equipment such as weapons by Serbian company ‘Valir’, intended for the Defence Ministry in Bangladesh.

Nova.rs reported that it has obtained exclusive information saying that BA-metalexport d.o.o from Bosnia is mentioned in the contract as a buyer for the transport of land mines to Bangladesh. The task of this company, which was founded in 2015, was to transfer goods from Nis airport via Jordan to the final destination, Bangladesh.

The company is headquartered in Istocno Novo Sarajevo (East New Sarajevo), and Nova.rs reports that it has since 2019 experienced a massive increase in income.

The company's official website states that it specializes in military technology and that its market is focused on the Middle East, North and West Africa and India.

The legal representative is Alen Djuzel, who is also the director of the company.

In August 2021, a contract for the purchase of weapons was concluded in Belgrade between the company “Valir” and the company “BA-metalexport d.o.o.”.

Nova.rs obtained a contract that confirms that the company from BiH arranged the delivery to the military forces of Bangladesh.

According to the first contract, the total value of the contract was 363,245 US dollars, and with another contract between “Valir” and “BA-metalexport d.o.o.”, the value of the shipment was agreed to be 180,000 US dollars.

Nova.rs contacted the director of “Valir”, Mladen Bogdanovic, who said the shipment included exclusively land mines and related equipment.
According to military analyst Aleksandar Radic, the goods in question are manufactured by the Krusik Holding Corporation, a Serbian state-owned company for the production of defence and civil-related equipment.

According to Nova.rs, the private company Valir is connected to arms dealer Slobodan Tesic. Despite the fact that Tesic is under US sanctions, the documentation Nova.rs obtained shows that Valir exported weapons to America without any problems during 2021.