The public prosecutor’s office for organized crime and corruption said Friday that the largest laboratory for synthetic drugs in Southeast Europe has been detected in Macedonia.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Serbian counterpart institution and the country’s ministry of interior.
“The public prosecutor’s office for organized crime and corruption, supported by the police, found Thursday an installation for unauthorized production of synthetic drugs, seizing large quantities of narcotics and raw materials for its production”, reads the press release.
The international criminal ring is comprised of Macedonian and Serbian nationals, while a Tetovo-based group equipped a laboratory for production of synthetic drugs and precursors, aimed at selling and distributing the narcotics in Macedonia, Serbia and other countries.
Serbian news agency Tanjug reports that the months’ long operation resulted in the arrest of eight members of the ring, including its head Milan Zarubica.
Serbian Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic said the police seized about 300kg of tablets, adding that the synthetic drug “captagon” was used by ISIS fighters.
According to him, the operation is expected to continue at the territory of Turkey, where potential buyers could also be detected.
Besides the Tetovo lab, another facility used by the group has also been found in Serbia.
