Prosecutors in North Macedonia have opened a case into a seizure of five tonnes of marijuana in neighbouring Serbia after initial media reports said the drugs had been sourced from North Macedonian territory.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had launched an investigation and was taking “concrete, targeted and coordinated actions” to establish all facts and circumstances linking North Macedonia to the case, with the aim of ensuring full criminal accountability.
“We were promptly and fully informed of the operation in Serbia on Friday and immediately took action within our legal competences,” the prosecutor’s office told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
It said intensive and continuous communication had been established with Serbian authorities, including an active exchange of relevant information and coordination of actions to identify all individuals involved and any organised criminal structures linked to the seizure.
North Macedonia’s interior ministry said separately that it was taking “appropriate operational and technical measures and activities in line with police powers”.
Serbian police seized the marijuana on Jan. 29 near the village of Konjuh, close to the central Serbian city of Krusevac. Authorities described it as the largest drug seizure in the country’s history, estimating its value at between 7 million and 10 million euros ($7.6–10.9 million).
A higher court in Belgrade has ordered pre-trial detention for three suspects. Serbian prosecutors have also sought arrest warrants, including an international warrant, for suspected organiser Aleksandar Mijajlovic, who remains at large.
Media reports said one of the people under investigation, identified by the initials I.D., is a co-owner of “Alphafarm”, a company based in the Skopje region and registered for the production and processing of medical cannabis.