2.7 tons of cocaine seized on sailboat in Atlantic Ocean: Organizer arrested in Serbia

Photo: MUP RS

In an international operation led by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and the BIA, and in coordination with Europol and several European police forces, 2.7 tons of cocaine were seized on a sailboat in the Atlantic Ocean, while in Serbia, the organizer of this organized criminal group, S.K., (70) was arrested with three other suspects.

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In addition to S.K., members of this organized criminal group N.S. (36), N.S. (43) and B.K. (40) were all arrested in Serbia.

The investigation into the criminal group was launched by the criminal police for the city of Belgrade in January 2022 on suspicion that it was engaged in smuggling cocaine from South America to the EU, and the activities against this network were extended to other police forces abroad and a coordinated investigation led by Europol within the operational working group "Balkan Cartel."

The competent authorities of Spain, Brazil, Croatia, France, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia participated in the operation, which was led by Serbia, with the coordination of Europol.

On August 24, based on joint operational work, six persons were arrested, four of them in the territory of Serbia, while 15 apartments were searched.

2.7 tons of cocaine, two high-end vehicles, expensive watches and over 550,000 euros in cash were seized. Also, as part of the financial investigation, a large number of bank accounts and properties were blocked.

It is suspected that this organized crime group transported cocaine from South America, that it provided sailboats and that shipments were organized using an encrypted communications platform.

In this operation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia once again showed that it is a reliable and leading partner in suppressing international drug trade and in the fight against organized crime.

(Telegraf.rs)