The haul, valued at roughly PLN 7.5 million (€1.6 million), was discovered in Poland’s eastern Lublin region, officials said on Tuesday.
According to a statement by Tadeusz Gruchalla, a spokesman for the Maritime Border Guard Unit in Gdańsk, the illicit shipment arrived from South America, passing through a European port before heading towards its final destination in Poland. Investigations by the Pomorskie branch of Poland’s Organized Crime and Corruption Prosecution Department, supported by the Maritime Border Guard’s operational and investigative team, led to the high-profile seizure.
“This operation comes after months of close cooperation with U.S. and Czech narcotics enforcement agencies, as well as Europol,” Gruchalla said. “The container, initially loaded at a Panamanian port, traveled through a European seaport and a customs checkpoint in Ostrava, Czech Republic, before we managed to intercept it in Poland’s Lublin region.”
Authorities arrested three suspects: two men from the Lublin region, aged 41 and 47, and a 53-year-old from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie province. All face charges of participating in an organized criminal group and trafficking significant quantities of narcotics within the European Union. If found guilty, they could serve between three and 20 years in prison.
A local court in Gdańsk ordered the suspects to be held in custody for three months, and investigators indicated that more arrests could follow as the probe continues.
(jh)
Source: IAR, PAP