Bratislava, 29 October (TASR) – An investigator of the National Anti-Drug Unit has charged ten individuals as part of an international operation nicknamed Linea, and the suspects include seven Slovaks and three Hungarians, the police leadership announced at a press conference on Wednesday.

The case is connected to last year’s seizure of cocaine worth more than €175 million in the Dominican Republic.

The large-scale police operation took place in Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and Germany on 21 October, involving 450 members of the Slovak Police Corps.

“In total, 22 people were detained and 42 raids were carried out, including house searches and inspections of other premises and land,” said Ondrej Sallai, head of the Western Anti-Drug Department.

In Slovakia, nine houses and 21 other premises were searched.

An investigator of the National Anti-Drug Unit filed charges for the unauthorised production and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as for the offence of founding, orchestrating and supporting a criminal group.

Sallai explained that the head of the group, a Hungarian national, was detained in Germany thanks to international cooperation between security forces.

Six of the accused are in custody, and the extradition of others from abroad is pending.

During the operation the police also uncovered an illegal cigarette factory in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, seizing 3,500,000 cigarettes, 75,000 cigarette packs, and 14 to 15 tonnes of tobacco intended for cigarette production.

Seven Ukrainians were detained in relation to this case, which has been taken over by the Criminal Office of Financial Administration.

“The Police Corps has been long and intensively engaged in combating drug-related crime, which has serious impacts on society, endangers public health and negatively affects feelings of safety,” said Police Corps President Jana Maskarova.

She pointed to 30 successful operations carried out by the National Anti-Drug Unit over the past year.