Croatian Police Arrest Two Italians for Cocaine Smuggling
Croatian police have arrested two Italians suspected of being key figures in an international cocaine smuggling ring, their lawyers said on Saturday.
Antonio Melato and his son Alessandro were arrested on an Interpol warrant in the Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik, where they lived, on suspicion of taking part in drugs smuggling and money laundering, the lawyers said quoted by HINA news agency.
The two were transferred to the central coastal town of Split, where a court remanded them in custody pending their extradition to Italy.
Alessandro Melato's lawyer, Jadran Franceschi, said that his client had lived in Croatia since 2006 but would not obstruct the extradition procedure.
Meanwhile, local media reported that Antonio Melato was one of the bosses of an international smuggling cartel, trafficking tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
The reports said the two men had companies in Dubrovnik suspected of being used for laundering income from drug running. Their arrest was part of a major international police operation aimed at dismantling the cartel.
Source: Agence France Presse
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