High Value Targets were members of some of the Western Balkan region’s most violent and dangerous drug trafficking organisations

This week, Montenegrin authorities have arrested nine High Value Targets holding key positions in Western Balkan drug trafficking organisations. In total, 19 individuals were targeted in this action. Four received charges while in prison, and five others are still on the run. This action is the result of national investigations, cooperation, and information exchange through Europol between the Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police, the Montenegrin Special Police Division (Specialno Policijsko Odeljenje), and the United States Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA). The investigation was initiated after law enforcement intercepted 1.8 tonnes of cocaine shipments from Europe to Australia between 2020 and 2021. 

The targeted individuals were closely linked to various Montenegrin criminal cells active within a larger drug trafficking network spread across the Balkan region and beyond. Some of the suspects allegedly belong to one of the most notorious and violent Montenegrin clans, while others are suspected of leading their own independent criminal groups. One of the suspects, the leader of this criminal group, is allegedly responsible for multiple murders carried out during gang wars. 

The nine suspects were already known by law enforcement authorities, as they had appeared in a number of previous drug trafficking investigations. Investigators have identified that the networks where they played leading roles had developed a large logistics network to facilitate drug trafficking from the EU to Australia. They were able to supply cocaine from source countries and transport it for final distribution in European and Australian end markets. 

The action day on 17 July 2024 led to: 

• 15 locations searched in Montenegro
• 9 arrests
• Seizures including documents, 22 firearms and 722 pieces of ammunitions, 15 vehicles, 2 vessels, luxury watches and cash. 

In recent years, Western Balkan criminal networks have increasingly targeted the Australian drug market, as the illegal proceeds of cocaine trafficking there are significantly higher than European markets. The supply route includes Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, with transhipments via Southern Europe and Africa towards Australia. If one kilo of cocaine costs several thousand euros in the source countries, it could reach more than EUR 100 000 on the Australian black market.

Europol facilitated the exchange of information and provided continuous analytical support to the investigation. Europol also contributed to the overall case coordination among various agencies in the EU and beyond.  

The European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) tackles the most important threats posed by organised and serious international crime affecting the EU. EMPACT strengthens intelligence, strategic and operational cooperation between national authorities, EU institutions and bodies, and international partners. EMPACT runs in four-year cycles focusing on common EU crime priorities.