Prague, March 9 (CTK) – Spanish and Czech police have busted an organised crime group operating in the two countries, Europol said yesterday, adding that members of the group, most of them Serbs, are suspected of a number of crimes, including three murders, one of which was committed in the Czech Republic.
In Spain, 19 group members were caught and another six were detained in the Czech Republic.
The six persons, arrested in Central Bohemia, played the role of “gardeners,” or persons who grew marijuana for Spanish organisers.
Five Serbs and one Czech had an invented identity, Ales Pavlik, from the Central Bohemian police, said yesterday.
The arrest of the perpetrators was the result of an operation supported by Europol experts. A total of 304 police from both countries took part in it.
In the Czech Republic, police carried out six home searches and found four large-scale marijuana growing facilities. The police seized 30 kilograms of the drug ready for sale and 18,500 euros.
Three of the detained men face up to 12 years in prison and three others ten years. All have been taken into custody.
Pavlik said perpetrators detained in the Czech Republic are only prosecuted for drug delicts.
Spanish police found six marijuana growing facilities and 50,690 euros.
Europol wrote yesterday that the operation was launched thanks to cooperation of the Serbian police who warned their Spanish colleagues that a gang, originally active in Novi Sad, has moved to Spain.
One of the group chiefs, prosecuted in several countries of Europe, was uncovered in a luxury neighbourhood of Lloret de Mar near Barcelona. This helped the investigators and Europol uncover his contacts to other group members.
Serbian authorities also announced that another boss of the group moved to the Czech Republic where he was investigated because of his possible participation in murder, Europol said yesterday.
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