Criminal group busted in Prilep, criminal complaints filed against 21 people for drug trafficking and money laundering

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia has announced that an organized criminal group consisting of 21 members was dismantled during a police operation carried out on September 30, following a several-month investigation.

The group consisted of 20 people from Prilep and one from Skopje. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its members are suspected of having been involved in the illegal drug trade and economic crime for a long period.

The operation included searches at 36 locations: 33 in Prilep, two in Skopje and one in Struga. A total of 31 people were searched, while 20 of them were detained.

During the raids, the authorities seized narcotics, weapons and ammunition, money in denars and foreign currencies, vehicles, motorcycles, mobile phones, scales, metal grinders and other equipment.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs investigation revealed that N.V. and M.S. are suspected of having founded and led the group, which operated through a network of distributors.

According to the authorities, N.V. obtained cocaine and marijuana from unidentified individuals of Albanian origin, as well as from Struga and Debar. The narcotics were then stored at secure locations in Skopje and Prilep, from where their distribution through resellers was organized.

The network is suspected of having buyers in Prilep, Bitola, Kavadarci, Negotino, Veles and Skopje.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that one gram of marijuana was sold for 500 to 800 denars, while one gram of cocaine cost between 4,000 and 6,000 denars.

M.S. is also suspected of following the same scheme, obtaining cocaine and marijuana from individuals from Debar and Gostivar and distributing them through a network of sellers.

According to the police, the money generated from the sales was handed over to the suspected leaders of the group. Part of it was given to the sellers as compensation, while it was later used to purchase movable and immovable property.

“They gave the money from the sales to N.V., who gave them part of the money as compensation, which they then used to purchase movable and immovable property,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in its statement.

The investigation also includes suspicions of money laundering. The authorities said that during 2025–2026, five people had placed financial assets suspected of originating from drug trafficking into legal circulation.

The amount involved totals 4,990,270 denars and 64,670 euros.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the aim was to conceal the further movement and location of the money by introducing it into the legal financial system and putting it back into circulation.

Criminal complaints have been filed against all 21 people with the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption. Some of them are suspected of the illegal production and trafficking of drugs, while others are also suspected of money laundering.

Among those involved is B.I., aged 62. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he is being held in pretrial detention in France for a criminal offense provided for under Article 215 of the Criminal Code./Telegrafi/