After several days of avoiding questions on the major seizure of trafficked marijuana from a farm apparently owned by his cousin, Zoran Zaev was asked today about the scandal. He insisted that the family is not involved in marijuana smuggling, and that the persons responsible will be put to trial.

They include Aleksandar Usilkoski, personal driver to Zaev’s cousin Trajce Zaev, who apparently owns the farm, and Kire Spirkoski, police commissioner of Prilep who was appointed to this position by the Zaev regime.

This Aleksandar is not employed in a Zaev owned company and the van that was transporting the marijuana is not ours. The van had Greek license plates. Aleksandar may be friends with my cousin and the police commissioner may have pictures with a Zaev associate – with Minister Spasovski – but the law will apply equally to all, Zaev said.

Spirkoski and Usilkovski, who had a large weapons cache seized, are ordered into detention. Trajce Zaev is in Dubai and there is no indication that the prosecutors are going to investigate the involvement of the Zaev family in the farm. Marijuana growing exploded in Macedonia under the Zaev regime, and relatives of the Prime Minister and their cronies are the main recipients of growing licenses, but the drugs are supposed to be grown only for oil extraction. Still, it is widely rumored, as in the seizure on Friday, that much of the drugs are smuggled out of the country and are meant for the European black market.

A total of 200 kilograms of marijuana were seized in a truck that was heading north from Prilep. The drugs were apparently produced in the Medical 420 farm near Bitola, which is believed to be owned by Trajce Zaev. It’s worth on the black market is estimated at 800,000 EUR.