Serbian police in multi-national operation

A press release said that the operation included the police in Croatia, Italy and Spain and added that a Serbian national was arrested on suspicion of coordinating the drug smuggling.

Europol said in a press release that the investigation, initiated in March 2022, focused on a Polish-flagged vessel temporarily based in the Canary Islands, and suspected of transporting cocaine. “Since then, law enforcement authorities monitored the activities of the crew. One of the individuals, an Italian national, was linked to the Italian ´Ndrangheta and the other, a Croatian national, was linked to the so-called Balkan Cartel,” it added.

The Spanish police raided the ship after it sailed to a point in the Atlantic Ocean and seized 700 kilograms of cocaine and arrested the Croatian and Serbian nationals suspected of coordinating the drug smuggling operation from the land.

“Europol facilitated the exchange of information and provided continuous analytical support to the investigation. Europol also contributed to the overall case coordination among various agencies and supported the action day remotely,” it said.