INDICTMENT ISSUED IN CASE WITH EVIDENCE FROM SKY APPLICATION

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH issued an indictment against Zdravko Šagolj, aka "Piske" and "General", born in 1956 in Konjic, a citizen of BiH and the Republic of Croatia. 

The accused is charged with participating, together with several other persons, within an organized criminal group that operated in the countries of the region, Europe and South America, in the process of smuggling approximately 505 kilograms of the narcotic drug "Cocaine", from the territory of Ecuador, via the port of Piraeus to the port of Ploče in Croatia, with the aim of its further smuggling to the territory of BiH and the countries of the region. According to the indictment, the accused Šagolj was supposed to ensure unhindered passage of the drugs through the customs terminal in the port of Ploče.

Members of the organized criminal group, as well as the accused Šagolj, used the encrypted Sky application to communicate and agree on the commission of a criminal offense. The narcotics were smuggled in a shipping container with a shipment of bananas from Ecuador, and law enforcement agencies of BiH and the countries of the region, cooperating with international partners, located and seized the drugs upon arrival at the Port of Ploče in Croatia on 19 March 2021. At that time, a quantity of 505.5394 kg was found in the double bottom of the container, with an estimated value on the illegal drug market of around 20 million euros, or a total street value of around 50 million euros, and it was intended for multiple customers from the countries of the region.

The accused is charged with having committed the criminal offense of Organized Crime under Article 250, paragraph 2, in conjunction with the criminal offense of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs under Article 195, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of BiH.