FLASH NEWS
EUROPOL strikes the "Balkan Cocaine Cartel": They were transporting drugs from Albania to EU countries!
2026-04-16 11:51:00 / AKTUALITET
EUROPOL has cracked down on one of the networks suspected of moving large quantities of drugs from the Balkans to Europe's most lucrative markets.
At the center of the operation conducted simultaneously in Montenegro and Germany is the name of Svetislav Filipovic, 47 years old from Podgorica, whom Europol has identified as a "high-value target" and as the organizer of the notorious group known as the "Balkan Cartel".
Along with him, Montenegrin authorities have also arrested Boban Golubov, Enes Borančič and Petar Krsmanović, while Emin Adzijusufović, Bozo Vujšić and Pavle Pejić have also been arrested on charges related to criminal organization and drug trafficking.
The same file also includes Nemanja Stojanović from Niš, who is already in the detention system, while Gojko Borićić and Vukan Vujačić remain wanted.
This list of names is the strongest part of an operation that shows that the Balkan criminal networks are no longer artisanal structures operating on the periphery, but consolidated mechanisms, with financiers, coordinators, logistics, and international connections.
According to data published by the Montenegrin police and cited by Vijesti, 14 people have been prosecuted: 10 in Montenegro and 4 in Germany.
The director of the Montenegrin police, Lazar Šepanović, himself stated that the network consisted of heterogeneous structures, where members of a high-risk criminal group were also identified, who had created a cooperation network.
This is where the real weight of the news kicks in. When Europol talks about a "significant cell of the Balkan Cartel," we are not just dealing with a technical formulation.
This means that European security structures are reading the Balkans as an organized hub of international trafficking, not simply as a transit territory.
And when Svetislav Filipović emerges at the center of this network, while names like Gojko Boričić and Vukan Vujačić move around on the periphery, the message is clear: the authorities are not only cracking down on transporters, but are seeking to climb up the organizational pyramid.
According to Europol, the investigation has also been extended with the support of the authorities of Austria and Spain, while the target was a network involved in the international smuggling of large quantities of cocaine and cannabis.
According to the same source, charges have been filed in Montenegro against several suspects for involvement in the trafficking of 2.7 tons of cocaine and 1.5 tons of cannabis between October 2024 and April 2026.
The drugs, the announcement said, were seized in 12 previous operations in several EU countries and South America.
The network is suspected of using sea and air routes, using shipping containers and covert transport methods. Europol adds that cannabis was trafficked into the EU from or through countries such as Albania, Thailand and the United States.
This detail makes the issue much bigger than the borders of Montenegro.
The file also mentions Albania as one of the countries from or through which cannabis is suspected to have been moved to the European Union, so we are dealing with a signal that directly affects the entire region. / Taken from Vijesti
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