Balkan police have arrested 11 suspected members of a criminal syndicate responsible for trafficking cocaine from South America to Europe, Croatia said on Wednesday, in its latest move to crack down on traffickers. Among those arrested was a suspect also wanted for his alleged membership of the famous “Pink Panthers“Jewelry robbery gang.
The arrests took place in raids on Tuesday in which police seized weapons, large quantities of ammunition as well as luxury cars and cash, the Croatian Interior Ministry said in a statement. statement.
The so-called Balkan route is a vital transit network long used by criminals to smuggle drugs, weapons and people to Western Europe.
Eight suspects were arrested in Serbia, two were detained in Bosnia and another was apprehended in Croatia, the statement added.
“Cocaine traffickers used different maritime routes…and are linked to the seizure of more than 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of cocaine…in 2021 in the Croatian port of Ploce,” the statement said.
The drugs – with a potential street value of 50 million euros ($53 million) – were hidden in a container, and the ministry released multiple images showing packages of cocaine.
Ministry of Interior of Croatia
“The seizure shows that international drug trafficking groups are increasingly targeting smaller EU ports,” the ministry added.
One of the suspects arrested in Serbia was also wanted for his alleged membership in the Pink Panthers jewelry heist gang – a notorious international criminal network which attracted many of its members to the Balkans. Like “60 Minutes” reported As of 2014, the Pink Panthers have worked in dozens of countries and many members fought in Serbian special forces during the Bosnian Wars.
In recent months, members of Balkan cartels and gangs have been linked to major cocaine trafficking operations.
In June, European police arrested around 40 people as part of a multi-year operation to dismantle a major drug trafficking network, leading to the seizure of eight tonnes of cocaine. Many members of the network were from Balkan countries, Europol said.
“Serious assessments indicate that the Balkan cartel is responsible for the supply of more than half of the cocaine” in Europe, Croatian police officer Tomislav Stambuk said at the time.
A month later, Spanish police announced the dismantling of a major network transporting Latin American cocaine to Europe by boat, as part of an international operation involving 50 arrests in eight countries. The network included members of the so-called Balkan Cartel who were “living the high life” on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain, police said.