Serbia: Police Arrest More than 100 People in Nationwide Drug Probe

Published: 09 December 2013

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Serbian police have arrested 127 people after Friday’s country-wide “Operation Thunderbolt”  probe into organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking, reports the website B92.

Minister of Interior Affairs Ivica Dačić said that the operation was aimed at dismantling smuggling rings and involved a search of more than 900 sites in Serbia.

According to B92, police officers, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Bureau for Coordination of Security Services uncovered one drug laboratory and made 134 confiscations. In northern Serbia, more than five kilograms of heroin were found, reports InSerbia

“This is a blow to the distributive network,” Dačić said.

Operation Thunderbolt is a coordinated action involving thousands of police officials, according to Police Director Milorad Veljović.

Veljović said that large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and vehicles were already seized. The operation also led to the arrest of a person accused of murder. A number of bombs were found in his apartment, but Veljović did not specify the amount.

Veljović added that the operation is still ongoing, saying, “No one will be spared in the operation regardless of his name and title,” according to InSerbia.