Croatian authorities have opened an espionage probe into a Croatian Air Force (HRZ) helicopter pilot and his long-time partner, a Serbian citizen from Kosovska Mitrovica, after detaining the pair on the island of Vis during a summer holiday. Investigators suspect the pilot shared sensitive information with his partner, who allegedly relayed it to members of Srpska Lista (Serb List), the Belgrade-backed party in northern Kosovo. Both civilian and military police are involved, and Europol has joined the case, according to Croatian media. As of Wednesday, the couple had been questioned by prosecutors in Split, with a decision on pre-trial detention pending.
The case centers on the pilot’s previous service with NATO’s KFOR mission in Kosovo. From late 2022 through this year, prosecutors believe he provided his partner with information about the movement of Serb communities in northern Kosovo and the deployments and routes of KFOR units—details that would have been accessible to a flight crew member supporting missions in the area. Investigators are also examining alleged tips related to Zubin Potok, a flashpoint municipality where tensions between local Serbs, Kosovo authorities and international forces have repeatedly boiled over. In addition, the file reportedly includes exchanges about the transport of former Kosovo police officer Dejan Pantić, whose December 2022 arrest triggered weeks of roadblocks across the north and required KFOR helicopter assistance due to security constraints.
The outlines of the investigation emerged from tightly sourced local reporting, with officials offering little on-record comment. The Police Directorate referred queries to the Defence Ministry (MORH), which has so far declined to provide details. Media accounts indicate the suspects were initially detained on July 25; the pilot was then released while the partner was issued an expulsion order and placed for a month at the Trilj reception center for foreigners. Subsequent forensic analysis of their mobile devices allegedly produced communications that investigators consider evidence of “international espionage,” prompting Wednesday’s questioning and a move toward formal investigation.
In a follow-up report, the pilot has denied wrongdoing, telling associates he is being framed and describing his partner as a collateral victim. MORH has confirmed he previously passed security vetting, a point lawmakers on the parliamentary security committee seized on to demand a review of screening protocols inside the armed forces. For now, prosecutors say they believe they have sufficient grounds to pursue a case for the multi-year disclosure of protected information. The couple’s identities have not been officially released; Croatian media identify them by initials.
If substantiated, the allegations would mark one of Croatia’s most sensitive counter-intelligence cases in recent years, touching the NATO mission in Kosovo and the political ecosystem around Srpska Lista. They would also underscore chronic security pressures in northern Kosovo, where incidents in places like Zubin Potok can reverberate across the region and draw in international actors. Yet the evidentiary threshold remains high, and defense lawyers are likely to challenge both the classification and handling of any operational data at issue—particularly if information originated from mission logistics rather than national sources. With Europol now assisting and cross-border dimensions in play, the case is positioned at the intersection of national security, alliance operations and fragile regional politics.
