SLOVAK customs officers found nearly half a kilogram of cocaine during a raid on a flat in Holíč (Trnava region) on the morning of October 7.
The police arrested the 28-year-old owner of the flat, her mother and the owner's husband, who is originally from Nigeria and has been prosecuted in the past for a drug-related crime in Austria. The trio could face 20-25 years in prison.
The drugs were hidden in the cardboard sides of a package from French Guyana, and were addressed to a person in Slovakia who is known to have died, the TASR news agency wrote.
According to police experts, the cocaine seized in the raid is of very good quality and would be worth Sk5 million (€135,000) on the black market. "The social danger presented by the drug is higher than its value. Imagine how many people could have become addicts," said Customs Criminal Bureau Director Viktor Lehotzký at a press conference on October 8.
The successful operation was the result of three weeks of cooperation between French and Slovak customs officers.