The investigation into the smuggling of marijuana from North Macedonia to Serbia has been expanded by the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption to include seven new suspects.

The Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation, launched in February this year, had uncovered a wider network linked to the criminal activity. The evidence was collected through investigative actions and cooperation with the Serbian authorities.

The seven individuals are suspected of the unauthorized production and distribution of narcotic substances. According to the investigation, during the period 2025-2026, they operated as part of an organized criminal group.

To conceal its illegal activity, the group allegedly used a company headquartered in Skopje that held a license to cultivate cannabis for medical use.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the company’s owners organized shipments of marijuana from North Macedonia to Serbia. Cargo vehicles and customs documents were used for transport, with the shipments listed as ordinary goods.

The narcotics were concealed among food products, textiles, pillows and quilts, while the vehicles were directed to the Tabanoc border crossing.

After crossing into Serbian territory, the marijuana was sent to a warehouse in the Konjuh area, near Kruševac. There, it was repackaged and prepared for further sale.

The evidence collected so far indicates that this method was used in at least five separate instances of drug transportation.

On July 21, 2026, Serbia’s Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against six members of the group. Meanwhile, in North Macedonia, two of the suspects have pleaded guilty.

The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje sentenced the two defendants, one to three years and six months in prison and the other to three years and eight months in prison.

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A North Macedonian national has been placed under investigation and remanded in custody on suspicion of involvement in transporting more than 324 kilograms of marijuana seized in Thessaloniki, Greece. The news was announced today by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of North Macedonia.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, at the end of February this year, the suspect obtained a transport vehicle, followed by a trailer in early March. He then arranged the purported transport of compressed recycled paper from the Republic of North Macedonia to the Republic of Turkey via the Republic of Bulgaria.

After completing customs procedures, on March 8, 2026, the suspect left North Macedonian territory with the vehicle and trailer, heading toward the Republic of Bulgaria. However, instead of continuing his journey to Turkey, he traveled to Greece and left the vehicle and trailer in a rented enclosed facility in Thessaloniki.

During his stay there, he met with two suspects who are facing proceedings in the Republic of Greece. One of them remains beyond the reach of law enforcement authorities. According to the statement, during this meeting the suspect learned of the plan to transport the narcotics further by concealing them in the load of recycled paper.

After the drugs were obtained, two of the suspects, together with other individuals who have yet to be identified, placed the marijuana in spaces previously prepared inside the bales of recycled paper. This took place between August 11 and 14, 2026.

On August 14, 2026, as part of Operation “Vardaris,” Greek police arrested two of the suspects and searched the rented facility. Inside, they found the trailer, from which the license plates had previously been removed. The drugs were discovered in four pallets placed at the rear of the trailer and another four pallets positioned in front of them.

A Kosovar national was also arrested as part of the same operation.

The operation followed a months-long investigation and was made possible through cooperation among the authorities of North Macedonia, Greece and Kosovo.

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According to Greek media reports, police had undertaken special measures against the import and distribution of narcotics in the country. After acting on the information obtained, officers identified a private vehicle driven by the 68-year-old in an area of Florina.

A search of the car uncovered two travel bags and one sack containing 50 packages of marijuana. The narcotics had a total gross weight of 55 kg and 422 grams.

During the operation, police also seized three mobile phones.

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