In co-operation with Italian authorities, Koper police in Slovenia busted two international criminal gangs involved in smuggling and trafficking large quantities of illegal drugs. They arrested eleven suspects and seized several kilograms of cocaine and cannabis and over 60,000 euros in cash.
According to Slovenian media, these are gangs led by Ergys Dashi, who was executed in January this year in Ecuador.
Preliminary proceedings in the first investigation were conducted by Slovenian and Italian prosecutors, as well as prosecutors from the European Judicial Network.
They set up a joint investigative group to investigate the case. The team gathered evidence that a drug ring run by an Albanian citizen in Europe was smuggling large quantities of cocaine from South America to European countries.
The leader of the group was killed in a restaurant in South America in early 2022, writes the Slovenia Times, referring to Dashi.
In Slovenia, the leader of the group was assisted by another Albanian in prison and his partner from the Izola area. She was responsible for logistical support and procurement of vehicles with Slovenian license plates.
The vehicles were converted by a criminal organization in the Netherlands to provide secret divisions for drug smuggling. This district supplied some of the drugs to Slovenia, with a Slovenian citizen playing a key role in this part of their operation.
Using covert investigative measures, criminal investigators gathered evidence against 21 suspects suspected of committing a total of 179 offenses of illicit drug production and trafficking, including seven who were arrested in Slovenia, some of whom had already been tried for such works. All but one who was already in jail were remanded in custody.
According to the first investigation, which ended in early April, Slovenian police seized various illegal drugs, including 2,300 grams of cocaine, 1,100 grams of cannabis and hashish, and 30,000 euros in cash. In Italy, the figures were significantly higher - more than 80 kilograms of cocaine and seven kilograms of cannabis, worth 4.5 million euros.
Koper police further discovered that another criminal group was operating in Slovenia's coastal area and occasionally worked with the gang, whose members were arrested in April. The second group also supplied customers from Slovenia and Italy.
Criminal investigators gathered evidence against eleven suspects suspected of having committed a total of 96 offenses of illegal drug production and trafficking. In addition, three other suspects have been charged with extortion.
The investigation ended this week when four suspects were arrested, all Slovenian nationals from the coastal area. Three of them have been detained and one is under house arrest.
Police seized various illegal drugs, including 2,080 grams of cocaine, 1,150 grams of cannabis and 35,000 euros in cash.
How was Ergys Dashi executed?
The execution took place on January 22 at 19:00, when one of the perpetrators entered the bar with the intention of executing Ergys Dashi, while the other was waiting for him outside on a motorcycle to remove him. The author was holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands, to be protected from the security cameras of the bar, and as he ran closer to the table where Dashi was, he pulled out a gun and shot Durrsak to death, while the friend at the table with Dashi had attempted to shoot the perpetrator with a chair, but was repulsed as the perpetrator continued to shoot with a gun as he ran away from the bar. At the time of the execution, there were other clients in the bar, who were horrified by the gunfire. At the scene, forensic experts have collected over 20 cartridges. According to the media in Ecuador,