STA, 2 March 2022 - Enes Kočan, a Slovenian wanted in connection to a 300 kilo heroin bust at the Koper port in April 2018, was extradited to Slovenia by the Spanish authorities last week, Slovenske Novice reported. The General Police Administration has confirmed that Kočan was taken into custody in Koper on the same day.
The police told the STA today that Kočan, who was apprehended in Barcelona in mid-February, had been handed over to the police officers at the Koper prison.
According to Slovenske Novice, Kočan has been remanded in custody after being heard at the Koper District Court on Friday.
The newspaper added that the suspect had exercised his right to silence before the investigating judge, and that it is unknown whether the procedure against Kočan will be merged with the other three defendants in the case.
As part of the same case, the police arrested Gregor Setnikar and Aris Alibašić in May 2019, and they also later arrested the alleged customer of the heroin shipment, Aleksandar Vettorazzi. The trio is currently on trial at the Koper District Court.
The 39-year-old Kočan, also known as Dec, had been on the list of the 62 most wanted suspects or convicted criminals released by Europol online in December along with an appeal to the public to help track them down.
A Slovenian citizen hailing from Montenegro, Kočan is suspected of being involved in the attempt to smuggle the high-grade heroin through the Koper port in 2018.
The shipment, arriving at Koper aboard a Turkish ship in a container loaded in Iran, was intercepted by the Slovenian police. Its black market value was estimated at EUR 60 million.
Kočan, who fled after the bust, was arrested in an up-market neighbourhood near a Barcelona golf course. He had been living with his family in a luxurious villa in Sant Vicenc de Montalt.
