Dobanovci Drug Bust: 45 Kilograms Seized, Three Arrested
By order of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, police seized about 30 kilograms of cannabis and 15 kilograms of cocaine in Dobanovci. Three suspects were arrested and held 48 hours.
Police seized about 30 kilograms of cannabis and about 15 kilograms of cocaine in the village of Dobanovci, part of Belgrade’s Surcin municipality, and arrested three people. The operation was carried out on the order of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, which announced the seizure in a statement on August 5. In total, about 45 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated.
Those arrested were M. Z., I. G. and D. Dj. The first two, according to the prosecutor’s office, were caught in a cargo van carrying the drugs, “packed in several parcels.”
Bag Picked Up at a Gas Station
The third suspect was not with the vehicle. D. Dj. was arrested on suspicion that he took a travel bag containing narcotics from the other two men at a gas station, according to the statement.
The prosecutor’s office did not say which gas station or how much of the drug was inside the bag.
All three men are charged with the unauthorized production and trafficking of narcotics. None of them has been found guilty.
What Happens After the 48 Hour Hold?
The suspects were ordered held for up to 48 hours. The prosecutor’s office said that within that period they “will be brought before the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office for questioning.” What happens next in the case will be decided after the questioning.
How Much Is the Seized Drug Worth?
The prosecutor’s office estimates the street value of the seized drugs at more than one and a half million euros.
Figures circulated by some media outlets during the day were higher, up to two million euros and more than 80 kilograms of narcotics. The official figure from the statement remains 45 kilograms, valued at one and a half million euros or more.
According to unofficial information, the operation on Belgrade’s territory was carried out by the Novi Sad Police Department, and encrypted phones were also seized during the searches. The same sources say the cocaine packages bore the logo of the car brand Lexus, a marking criminal groups use to identify the origin of a shipment. The prosecutor’s office did not confirm that detail in its statement.
Second Drug Bust in the Same Village in Two Days
Dobanovci has now been the scene of a drug arrest twice in two days.
The Surcin police station arrested J. D. (24) on August 4 in Steve Jovanovica Street. Inside his apartment, officers found 86 small plastic bags of marijuana in the oven and 75 psychoactive candies in the freezer, and also seized a digital scale. That case is being handled by the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, with a criminal complaint for unauthorized possession of narcotics.
The two cases are not connected, either by quantity or by jurisdiction. The smaller seizure amounts to street level dealing and falls under the basic prosecutor’s office. The 45 kilogram seizure goes before the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, which handles organized crime and more serious offenses.
Dobanovci sits along the highway at Belgrade’s western entrance, a route used by freight traffic heading into the city center. According to unofficial information, the vehicle in which the drugs were found had been modified for transporting them.
The prosecutor’s office did not say where the shipment came from, who it was meant for, or whether the suspects have prior convictions. That kind of information is usually released only after questioning, if at all.
