Police in Bratislava break up international drugs gang

During the weekend of January 30 to 31, the national anti-drugs unit broke up a drugs gang in Bratislava. The gang is believed to have been operating in several European countries.

The leader of the group is a 40-year-old Macedonian, Arslan N., of Albanian origin. He is wanted by police in several European countries.

The police operation was given the code name “operation amateur”, after Arslan's declaration, "don't be afraid, we are not amateurs".

Masked police raided and searched four flats in Ružinov. In one of the flats, they found 697g of 34 to 37 percent concentrated heroin and 33kg of caffeine and paracetamol, usually used for diluting drugs.

This is the biggest drugs raid yet seen in Slovakia. From the amount of drugs found in the flat the gang could have made 33,000 shots, worth Sk10 million (€258,000).

During the house search, the police also found a lot of weapons.

Arslan N. first came to Slovakia in 2000, when he applied for refugee status. The police discovered his whereabouts last spring with the help of Interpol.

If convicted, Arslan could face a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.

Dželadina M., a Slovak of Albanian origin, and Arslan’s right hand man, was also arrested in the raid, reports the SME daily.

Compiled by Killian Mabhena from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.

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