English
News outlets have published photographs from the massive marijuana seizures in Strumica, from companies owned by people who are seen as close to the business empire of former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev – who greatly expanded the issuing of licenses for marijuana production. While the licenses were given to companies that were supposed to deal with cannabis oil production, it is widely rumored that the true purpose of some of the companies was to smuggle marijuana into the regional and European market.
So far, 27 tons of drugs were seized, but Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski today said that the amount can go over 100 tons. While the investigation is apparently only starting, the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party came out with concrete allegations against businessmen from the Kotev family from Strumica, who are close business associates of Zoran Zaev’s brother Vice Zaev.
Production of medicinal marijuana was a smokescreen to cover up organized crime of enormous proportions. When the licenses were being issued, VMRO-DPMNE was warning that they are not given out in accordance to the law, but based on personal and familiar ties to the Zaevs. What percentage of this scandal was profits made by the Zaev clan? Apparently there was a narco cartel operating in Strumica, under political protection of SDSM and Zaev, and that cartel is now collapsing, said VMRO-DPMNE in a statement.
Zaev, who is largely out of the public eye and allegedly spends a lot of time in Dubai, issued a rare statement to deny the allegations. He threatened to sue VMRO-DPMNE member of Parliament Brane Petrusevski, who made the allegations against him.