OREANDA-NEWS  Montenegrin ex-boxer Goran Gogic has been charged for allegedly trafficking 22 tons of cocaine with a value of over $1 billion into the US.

The 43-year-old was arrested on Sunday night while attempting to board a flight from Miami International Airport to Zurich.

He was indicted by a grand jury in New York and then charged on three counts of violating the US’ federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and one count of conspiracy – each of which carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a possible life sentence. 

Gogic’s charges stem from a 19,930 kilogram (22 ton) seizure of cocaine in 2019 from three commercial cargo ships, which was one of the largest seizures in American history.

Prosecutors alleged that Gogic and his co-conspirators trafficked cocaine to Europe through American ports such as Philadelphia's Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, where 17,956 kilograms (19.8 tons) was found on the MSC Gayane as part of the seizure.

The gang used cranes and nets to place drugs onto cargo ships from speedboats along the ships’ routes, as part of a complex operation requiring knowledge of the ship’s route, location data, and if there was room to store the drugs in shipping containers already onboard, said prosecutors. 

US Attorney Breon Peace said Gogic’s arrest and indictment was “a resounding victory for law enforcement” in a statement.

Court papers say that the former fighter, who compiled a 21-4-2 record as a boxer from 2001 to 2012, oversaw logistics and coordinated with a network of Colombian drug traffickers, European dockworkers and crew members on the behalf of his Balkan-based cartels.

At least eight crew members of the MSC Gayane have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. But Gogic’s lawyer Lawrence Hashish has claimed that the charges came as a surprise to him.

“He maintains his innocence, and had come to the US for a boxing convention in Puerto Rico,” Hashish said.

Another detention hearing in Gogic’s case is scheduled for November 7.