In a shocking shift from the green rectangle to the world of organised crime, Portuguese authorities have caught former Serbian player Uros Milosevic red-handed in one of the biggest drug-smuggling operations in Europe this year.
Serbian media reported today, Friday, that officers detained the 37-year-old while he was driving a small truck loaded with around 1.5 tonnes of cocaine. He also had firearms on him. The special security operation netted seized items valued at roughly 70 million euros.
The drugs belonged to the so-called “Balkan Cartel”, a dangerous criminal organisation that operates heavily in both Portugal and Spain. The former player was part of a cell running the smuggling line between the two countries.
Milosevic had turned out for several well-known Serbian clubs, among them Cukaricki, IMT Rakovica, Teleoptik and Sindjelic Belgrade, before he ended up embroiled in large-scale crime entirely removed from football.
Portuguese press reports place the accused in pre-trial detention at a holding centre attached to the judicial police headquarters in the capital, Lisbon, where he awaits the completion of investigations and judicial procedures.
The arrest came as part of a wide joint operation by the Portuguese judicial police and the Spanish national police last week. The mission targeted a cell belonging to the Balkan Cartel. It led to the arrest of other Serbians inside Spanish territory and the seizure of 3.7 tonnes of drugs in total.
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