US charges boxer for 22 tons of cocaine
2022.10.31 15:37
US charges boxer for 22 tons of cocaine
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – The United States Department of Justice filed charges on Monday against a Montenegrin former heavyweight boxer for trafficking 22 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion, the majority of which was seized in one of the largest cocaine seizures in American history.
After being indicted by a grand jury in New York, 43-year-old Goran Gogic was detained on Sunday night while attempting to board a flight from Miami International Airport to Zurich.
Gogic was charged by prosecutors with three counts of Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act violations and one count of conspiracy. The mandatory minimum sentence for each count is ten years in prison, with the possibility of a life sentence.
The charges are based on the fact that 19,930 kilograms (22 tons) of cocaine were seized from three commercial cargo ships in 2019, including 17,956 kilograms (19.8 tons) from the MSC Gayane while it was docked at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia.
The conspirators, according to the prosecution, used cranes and nets at night to lift drugs onto cargo ships from speedboats that were approaching along the routes of the ships in order to transport cocaine from Colombia to Europe through American ports.
According to prosecutors, the intricate operation required knowledge of each ship’s crew, route and location information, and space to store drugs in shipping containers that were already aboard.
According to court documents, Gogic coordinated with crew members, Colombian traffickers, and European dockworkers to benefit himself and his Balkan-based cartels and oversaw the scheme’s logistics.
The arrest and indictment of Gogic by U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn was described as “a resounding victory for law enforcement” in a statement.
At least eight Gayane crew members have admitted guilt to conspiracy charges related to their roles.
Gogic was a boxer from 2001 to 2012, according to online records. He won 21 fights and lost four, with two draws.
