Police launch probe after discovering secret tunnel linking apartment and court building holding seized drugs and evidence

12 September 2023, 19:32

Police have launched an investigation after an underground tunnel was discovered linking an apartment building with a nearby court depot holding seized drugs and other crime evidence.

The discovery was made on Monday by Police in Montenegro, with authorities describing the scene as one that "resembles action movies".

The tunnel was found to connect a local apartment building in the country's capital, Podgorica, with the Higher Court, which handles various important crime cases, according to interior minister Filip Adzic.

The court depot is said to have contained evidence linked to current cases - but also large amounts of confiscated drugs.

Montenegro, a small Nato member state on the Adriatic Sea, had pledged to fight crime and corruption in recent months as it seeks to join the European Union.

Officials say it remains unclear why the tunnel was dug, highlighting that nothing appeared to have been taken from the court building.

"This was a well-planned and organised action, which has been prepared for months and which resembles action movies," said Mr Adzic.

He added that the apartment from where the underground tunnel started was leased just a few months ago.

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Montenegro has long been considered one of the main routes for drug smuggling into Western Europe.

The tunnel hole in the Montenegrin court building was found in a "well-hidden" place inside the depot, said the court president Boris Savic.

Photos from the scene published by state RTCG television showed a huge hole in the wall behind what appear to be depot shelves holding case files.

Some media reports made reference to film-style prison escapes, including that of former drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who escaped from a maximum-security Mexican prison in 2015 through a tunnel from his cell.

The perpetrators dug through the building's foundations for months to get in, he said.

"We found disturbed things inside the depot but almost nothing is missing," Mr Savic said.

In 2022, the former head of Montenegro's top court, Vesna Medenica, was arrested on charges of helping to cover up her son's drug-smuggling operation.