On 14 and 15 May, 2021, Slovenian criminal investigators carried out 23 searches of premises in Ljubljana, Koper, Kranj and Maribor. More than 100 investigators and criminal police officers took part in the raids. The operation resulted in the identification of 48 suspects (25 Slovenians, 23 other nationals) involved in 81 drug and weapons smuggling crimes that generated an estimated 2 million euros of criminal proceeds. The investigation also confirmed that, in 2018, the suspects began to set up the Slovenian cell of the Kavaćki clan, one of the strongest criminal organisations in the Balkans.

In today’s press briefing, Matjaž Jerkič, Assistant Director of the Criminal Police Directorate of the General Police Directorate, and Petra Grah Lazar, Acting Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, provided further details of this extensive and complex criminal investigation.

Slovenia's criminal police dismantle an international organised crime organisation

Slovenia's police recognise detection and investigation of crime perpetrated by international organised crime networks as one of their priorities. Illicit drug smuggling is a highly profitable criminal activity and one of the most frequently investigated type of organised crime. The transnational element of this type of crime is an important factor in identifying criminal proceeds as criminal networks inject illegal assets into legal economies in various states. Moreover, the negative impact on society and people’s health should not be underestimated.

"Today, we are presenting the results of an intense one-year international probe into a transnationally active organised crime group that perpetrated crimes of illegal manufacturing of and trafficking in illicit drugs and weapons. The group, which operated in EU and Western Balkan states, was dismantled by the Slovenian police," said Matjaž Jerkič, Assistant Director of the Criminal Police Directorate.

"A special feature of this criminal organisation is that it operated through a complex hierarchical structure in which each clan member was attributed a clear grade of authority and specific tasks. The group’s core criminal activity was trafficking in large quantities of illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, hashish, weed and weapons smuggling. The clan provided its members with advanced communication devices in support of safe communication among them," added Assistant Director Jerkič.

Led by the National Bureau of investigation, in close cooperation with internal organisational units of the Criminal Police Directorate of the General Police Directorate, the operation ended in multiple seizures of illicit drugs and cash, which were supported by law enforcement authorities from other states.

With the success of this investigation, the Slovenian criminal police have proved that they belong among those European police forces and partner services that can and will carry out the most demanding international criminal investigations, targeting internationally organised criminal groups of the highest rank, which have the same goal wherever they operate – unscrupulous gain of assets and their investment in legal business, without any regard to what it takes to attain their goals.

The National Bureau of Investigation carried out covert investigative measures and coordinated evidence gathering in Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Croatia

On 14 and 15 May, investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation, supported by criminal police officers of Maribor, Kranj, Koper and Ljubljana Police Directorates, Criminal Police Directorate and members of the Special Unit, carried out 23 house searches. More than 100 investigators and criminal police officers took part in the raids.

The house searches took place in the area of Ljubljana, Koper, Kranj and Maribor and were conducted as a result of a suspicion of 75 criminal offences of unlawful manufacture and trade of narcotic drugs, illicit substances in sport and precursors to manufacture narcotic drugs and 6 criminal offences of illegal manufacture of and trade in weapons and explosive materials.

A total of 48 persons are suspected of having committed criminal offences, of whom 25 are Slovenian and 23 foreign nationals. The raids took place in the homes of 19 Slovenian nationals. Eleven suspects were arrested, eight were brought before the Ljubljana District Court investigating judge for questioning on 15 May and six of those were remanded in custody.

“The suspects were members of an international criminal organisation, who over a long period of time engaged in selling, storing, transporting and brokering the sale of various kinds of illicit drugs. Some of the suspects were also involved in selling, purchasing, storing and transporting firearms and transporting large amounts of cash. By committing criminal offences, the suspects gained proceeds in the amount of approximately two million euros,” said Dr Petra Grah Lazar, acting Director of the National Bureau of Investigation.

“Officers of the National Bureau of Investigation identified the roles of individual members of the criminal organisation, the modus operandi of the organisation and individuals and confirmed that the suspects began to establish the Slovenian cell of the ‘Kavaćki klan’ in 2018. ‘Kavaćki klan’ has a reputation of being one of the most powerful criminal organisations in the Balkan region at the moment, with cells in practically every Member State of the European Union and very strong connections with South American cartels. The criminal organisation was hierarchically structured, with clearly defined decision-making levels. The decision-making followed the top-down approach and the relationships between members were formalised and carefully regulated. A high degree of connection between members was determined,” Ms Grah Lazar added.

When the criminal organisation was being established in Slovenia, some of the suspects recruited organisation members and founded companies through which the transport of drugs and firearms was channelled. They also provided suppliers. Drugs were transported from Spain and the Netherlands to Slovenia, from Slovenia to Austria, Germany, Italy and Croatia, firearms from Slovakia to Slovenia, Serbia and the Netherlands, and cash from Spain to Serbia. The goal of the criminal organisation was to transport and sell as large a quantity of illicit drugs and firearms as possible in order to maximise their proceeds.

The Slovenian criminal organisation was active in Slovenia, with strong connections in Spain, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Italy, the Netherlands and Croatia. Some senior members have been hiding for a long time, using counterfeit identity documents. The criminal organisation communicated through the SKY platform, which is characterised by self-destruction of messages and complete anonymity.

With a view to obtaining criminal proceeds, the members of the criminal organisation transported and sold: at least 790 kilograms of cocaine, 2,249 kilograms of cannabis, 96 kilograms of hashish, 10 kilograms of heroin, 30 litres of amphetamine base, and carried out several transports of firearms and 5.6 million EUR of cash.

During house searches, the investigators seized a large number of electronic devices and documents, the analysis and evaluation of which are ongoing. The investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation are also conducting a financial investigation with a view to confiscating assets of illegal origin.

As part of the pre-trial proceedings, the National Bureau of Investigation carried out covert investigative measures and coordinated evidence collection in Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy and Norway, the Netherlands and Croatia. International cooperation with Serbia was also established. The international engagement of the National Bureau of Investigation was upgraded and supplemented by Europol, which contributed comparative analyses of the collected data, using state-of-the-art immediate analytical support tools.

Since June 2020, the investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with partner countries’ police forces, have carried out the following seizures:

• in cooperation with the Norwegian police, 52 kg of hashish and 6 kg of cocaine were seized,
• in cooperation with the Croatian police, 3 kg of cocaine were seized,
• in cooperation with the German police, 37 kg of cocaine, 45 kg of cannabis and 25 kg of hashish were seized, as well as 212,000 EUR of cash,
• in cooperation with the Italian police, 76 kg of cannabis were seized,
• in cooperation with the Spanish police, 142 kg of cannabis were seized, while in March, an investigator of the National Bureau of Investigation participated in house searches in Spain,
• 200,000 EUR of cash were seized in Slovenia.

The pre-trial proceedings have been directed by the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia since the beginning of the investigation. The criminal offence of unlawful manufacture and trade of narcotic drugs, illicit substances in sport and precursors to manufacture narcotic drugs is punishable by imprisonment of between one and ten years and between five and fifteen years if the offence is committed within a criminal organisation. The criminal offence of Illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in weapons or explosives is punishable by imprisonment of between six months and five years and between one and ten years if the offence is committed within a criminal organisation.