Croatian police arrest 45 people in two major drug operations
Operations "Armageddon" and "Children and Hope" involved up to 250 police officers. More than eight tonnes of various drugs were seized, mainly cocaine from South America and Albania.
Croatian police arrest 45 people in two major drug operations
In coordinated operations conducted across seven counties, Croatian law enforcement authorities arrested 45 individuals suspected of involvement in international drug smuggling. The operations, named "Armageddon" and "Children and Hope", involved up to 250 police officers from several specialised units.
According to Balkan Insight, Interior Minister Davor Božinović assessed that this blow represents significant progress in the fight against criminal structures that control the drug market. The targeted groups allegedly transported large quantities of narcotics from Latin America and Albania to Western European countries for years.
"This involves the seizure of more than eight tonnes of various types of drugs, with the largest share being cocaine, around 6.7 tonnes. Some of the drugs were seized in Croatia, but most was confiscated in the United States and Spain," Božinović stated.
Following the completion of the criminal investigation, the suspects will be handed over to an investigating judge, and police will file criminal reports with USKOK. After questioning, authorities will decide on any potential request for detention.
A significant portion of evidence was gathered by breaking encrypted communications via the Sky ECC application. This platform had been used for years by global criminal organisations to arrange various unlawful activities — from murders and drug trafficking to arms and human smuggling.
Criminals believed their correspondence on Sky ECC was completely protected, but in 2021 the police of Belgium, the Netherlands and France, with the assistance of Europol and Eurojust, succeeded in breaking the protection and intercepting messages. The application was later shut down. Although it is no longer operational, millions of intercepted messages continue to be analysed, which continues to lead to new arrests and the discovery of criminal networks.
Source: Balkan Insight