STA, 15 October 2019 - Police officers at the Dobova Border crossing with Croatia (E) have discovered 13 kilos of heroin on a passenger train from Turkey destined for Austria.
After the train stopped at the border on Saturday, the police officers checking it found the heroin in a duffel bag located in the wagon used by the train staff.
Speaking to the press in Dobova on Tuesday, France Božičnik of the Novo Mesto Police Administration said the seized heroin had been put in 26 half-kilo packages. The duffel bag also contained a bag with half a kilo of marijuana.
According to Božičnik, who heads the criminal police sector, the duffel bag belonged to a 35-year-old Serbian citizen, who was employed on the train. He has been detained and is facing between five and 15 years in prison.
The police believe that the Serbian drug smuggler is a part of a criminal gang, and the investigation is heading in that direction. The seized heroin could have been sold at more than EUR 1.33 million, Božičnik added.
In the last 15 years, a total of 900 kilos of illicit drugs have been seized in the territory covered by the Novo Mesto Police Administration, including 460 kilos of heroin with the latest bust included.
More than 400 kilos of marijuana, 10 kilos of amphetamines and a smaller quantity of various pills containing psychoactive substances and cocaine have also been seized during that period.