Three Australians arrested in Serbia over $500 million cocaine shipment

Armed Serbian police stormed a Belgrade hotel to arrest three Australian citizens suspected of being part of an international drug-smuggling group. Serbian police alleged the men arrested in a Belgrade hotel foyer on Wednesday “are linked to” the discovery of 1.28 metric tons (1.41 U.S. tons) of cocaine that were seized last April on a Chinese freighter docked in Sydney. A small suitcase was filmed at the scene and police later said it contained a huge amount of cash in 10 currencies — 638,020 euro, 11,350 Australian dollars, 4,000 US dollars, 18,300 Czech koruna, 528,000 Vietnam dongs, 9,000 Japanese yen, 2,940 Chinese yuan, 2,500

This equates to $996,267 in Australian dollars. Police released footage of the arrests that took place in the lobby of the hotel, with the men putting their hands in the air before being handcuffed. A bag filled with foreign currency banknotes also was shown, and police said the arrests were made during a “money handover.” A Lebanese citizen was detained and charged with having forged identity documents. Serbian authorities said they would “continue to co-operate with Australia’s authorities in order to implement further action related to this permanent international investigation”.
Police in Serbia arrest three Australians, one of them Rohan Arnold, a known businessman, for allegedly smuggling 1,280 kilograms (2,820 lb) of cocaine into Sydney in 2016.