May 16, 2023
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On being arrested from the Miami International Airport on Sunday night, the Department of Justice reportedly charged a one-time heavyweight boxer for his attempts to smuggle approximately 22 tons of cocaine — a quantity worth over $1 billion — via the US.
Goran Gogic, a 43-year-old citizen from Montenegro, was reportedly referred to as a “major drug trafficker” and found to be the head of a “criminal network”. According to Reuters, such announcements came through in a press release held on Monday, which included additional details of one of the most significant cocaine seizures in US history.
About 19,930 kgs of cocaine were pulled off three commercial cargo vessels in 2019, with prosecutors reportedly alleging that Gogic was the mastermind in spearheading efforts to traffic them to Europe from Columbia via American ports.
The prosecutors explained that his crew collaborated under cover of night with nets and cranes to hoist the cocaine on massive ships, taking them off speedboats that drew up beside them on the routes they embarked on.
Gogic was further hit with a count of conspiracy and three violating the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. These charges carry a minimum of a decade behind bars and a possibility of a life sentence.
References: The Daily Beast, Reuters
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