From Skopje to Kruševac: Companies and Serbian criminal groups linked to marijuana cultivation

The record seizure of cannabis near Kruševac at a company linked to Serbian Progressive Party official triggered an investigation into a possible cross-border marijuana trafficking network

Among the owners of the Macedonian medical cannabis company Alpha Pharm, from whose premises in Skopje around 9 tons of marijuana were seized, are Serbian nationals linked to companies based in Kruševac, where 5 tons had previously been confiscated. BIRN has also identified another Macedonian cannabis cultivation company, Green Life, whose owners are likewise Serbian citizens, including Aleksandar Mijajlović, whom prosecutors describe as the organizer of the criminal group connected to this seizure.

The record seizure of 5 tons of cannabis near Kruševac, at a company linked to Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) official Rade Spasojević, triggered an investigation into a possible cross-border marijuana trafficking network. It raised questions about business ties between Serbian and Macedonian cannabis companies and set off a chain reaction in North Macedonia.

Over the weekend, North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior announced a large-scale operation in which more than 40 tons of marijuana, along with cannabis oil and biomass, were seized at several companies in Skopje and the country’s eastern region.

Meanwhile, while Serbia’s Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office claims that the marijuana seized near Kruševac originated in North Macedonia and Macedonian police continue their seizures, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said at a press conference on February 8 that there was, so far, no information indicating that the marijuana found in Serbia came from North Macedonia.

Although Macedonian institutions have not yet disclosed the identities of the companies involved, the location of the raid in Skopje indicates that it was Alpha Pharm, co-owned by Ivan Dragnić. Dragnić is among those arrested in the operation that led to the seizure of 5 tons of marijuana near Kruševac and is accused by Serbia’s Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office of playing a key role in organizing the transport of marijuana from Macedonia to Serbia. Police seized 9 tons of marijuana and more than 1,300 bottles of cannabis oil at this site.

Due to identified irregularities and discrepancies in records, the seized stock was confiscated from the Skopje-based company, while the prosecutor’s office for organized crime and corruption is examining possible links to the seizures in Serbia, according to the Macedonian Interior Ministry.

The investigation indicates a broader network of business and ownership ties between companies registered for medical cannabis cultivation in North Macedonia and numerous Serbian nationals, primarily from Kruševac.

The name of Aleksandar Mijajlović, who is currently on the run and identified by Serbian prosecutors as the group’s organizer, appears in the ownership structure of another Macedonian cannabis company, Green Life from Valandovo, via the Kruševac-based company Bio Naturals.

This raises the question of whether legal cannabis cultivation channels in North Macedonia were used as a cover for the illegal market, and whether such operations could take place without tacit or active support from parts of the authorities in both countries.

Serbia’s Minister of Defense, Bratislav Gašić, who is reported to have close ties to the arrested SNS member Rade Spasojević, issued a statement after the seizure in Konjuh, saying that there are no protected individuals in Serbia.

Serbia’s Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation against Aleksandar Mijajlović, identified as the group’s organizer and currently on the run, as well as against Ivan Dragnić, Nebojša and Rade Spasojević, and Uroš Mladenovski. Prosecutors suspect that the drugs seized near Kruševac were procured in North Macedonia and transported into Serbia, with Dragnić playing a central role in taking over the marijuana and organizing its transport. It is specifically noted that Dragnić is a co-owner of the Skopje-based company Alpha Pharm, registered for medical cannabis production.

BIRN reviewed the order launching the investigation, which states that the five suspects organized a chain of procurement, storage, and distribution of marijuana during January. According to the document, Aleksandar Mijajlović, previously known as Vulićević, tasked Ivan Dragnić with securing marijuana in North Macedonia. Dragnić then organized transport by cargo vehicles to Kruševac, where the drugs were stored in facilities in the village of Konjuh owned by Rade and Nebojša Spasojević, father and son.

From these warehouses, the marijuana was further taken over by Uroš Mladenovski, who transported the drugs in his own vehicle to Belgrade for further sale. Prosecutors state that on January 24, 2026, Mladenovski took just over 97 kilograms of marijuana from Nebojša Spasojević and transported and stored it at an address in New Belgrade. A separate case has already been opened against him, and he is currently in detention. Five days later, on January 29, police found the remaining more than 4,900 kilograms of marijuana in Konjuh. In total, forensic analysis confirmed the seizure of more than 5 tons of cannabis with THC content exceeding the legally permitted 0.3 percent.

During searches of the Konjuh facilities, police found thousands of packages of marijuana packed in cardboard boxes, packaging equipment including vacuum machines, and cash amounting to 30,000 Euro. Weapons were also seized, including automatic rifles without visible serial numbers, ammunition, and a Zolja anti-tank rocket launcher marked RBR 64mm M80.

According to Serbia’s business registry, Rade Spasojević owns Florakom, a company based in Konjuh near Kruševac. Media reports have described him as a member of the Serbian Progressive Party who took part in party promotional activities during the 2023 local election campaign and as someone close to Gašić, himself from Kruševac.

Gašić’s name has surfaced before in marijuana-related cases. Testifying in the “Jovanjica” trial in 2023, Belgrade police inspector Dušan Mitić said that he and his colleagues had intended to arrest Gašić, then director of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), and Mirko Škero, then head of the agency’s Belgrade center, because evidence pointed to close contacts between the main defendant Predrag Koluvija and high-ranking security officials, including Gašić.

The Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office says that evidence collected in the Konjuh case points to its international character, primarily because the drugs were procured in North Macedonia. Further proceedings will include questioning suspects and witnesses and conducting additional evidentiary actions to establish all circumstances and potential criminal responsibility.

While the investigation in Serbia continues, BIRN analyzed business links leading to North Macedonia. According to data, Alpha Pharm was founded in Skopje in late July 2023. Its founders included Ivan Dragnić, Predrag Brković, Jovana Mijajlović, and Aleksandar Milošević from Kruševac, as well as Robert Živković, Dragan Krstev, and Austrian citizen Daniel Savasci.

Certain ownership changes appear time-sensitive. Aleksandar Milošević exited ownership on December 16, 2025. His LinkedIn profile listing him as part of Alpha Pharm was deleted. Austrian citizen Daniel Savasci left the ownership structure on January 27, 2026, two days before the Serbian police operation. Dragan Krstev exited earlier, on June 26, 2024.

It is also notable that from January 23, 2025, all owners significantly increased their stakes in Alpha Pharm. The first increase amounted to 193,000 Euro, followed by an additional 336,050 Euro in June 2025, bringing total founding capital to 529,050 Euro.

Current owners are Brković, Dragnić, Živković, and Jovana Mijajlović, with the beneficial ownership register indicating that about 73 percent belongs to Jovana Mijajlović, a Kruševac native born in November 1986.

The investigation also pointed to links between Alpha Pharm and another Macedonian company registered for medical cannabis cultivation, Green Life from Valandovo. The two companies are connected through two individuals: one is a former co-owner of Alpha Pharm, and the other is mentioned in the Serbian organized crime investigation. Green Life is now co-owned, via the Kruševac-based company Bio Naturals, by Aleksandar Mijajlović, whom Serbian prosecutors identify as the organizer of the group linked to the 5 tons seizure near Kruševac. Macedonian citizen Dragan Krstev, a former co-owner of Alpha Pharm, served as director of Green Life from January 2022 to August 2023.

Green Life has operated since 2018, and over the years its owners have included Serbian companies, mostly from Kruševac, such as Rasina Invest Kruševac, Ivan Promet, and since 2022 Bio Naturals DOO, also from Kruševac. Bio Naturals is co-owned by Aleksandar Mijajlović and Ognjen Nikolić.

No real estate is registered in Serbia under Mijajlović’s name. The current owner of Green Life, Bio Naturals DOO from Kruševac, is registered for management of economic entities.

Ivan Dragnić, arrested on January 29 in the 5 tons seizure operation and a co-owner of Alpha Pharm, was previously a co-owner in Serbia of Ceramica Bellezza DOO Kruševac from 2018 to 2020, a construction materials trading company now in liquidation. Dragnić owns no registered real estate in Serbia. He and Jovana Mijajlović, also a co-owner of Alpha Pharm, are registered at the same address in Kruševac. She has no companies registered in Serbia.

Other current Alpha Pharm co-owners have business interests in Serbia. Predrag Brković runs the sole proprietorship BDR Elektro in Kruševac, active in electrical installations and currently under temporary suspension. He has participated in public tenders and leads the association Proširimo Vidike, which has received small local grants. He owns a house and a small plot of land in Kruševac.

Also, the investigation traced the ties of Austrian citizen Daniel Savasci, who exited Alpha Pharm two days before the police action in Konjuh, back to Kruševac. Savasci has long been active in the trade of precious metals, gemstones, jewelry, gold, and diamonds. He is also an amateur footballer with Austrian club 1.SC Kalksburg/Rodaun, where he has played since June 2024.

One of his registered Austrian addresses, Helene-Lieser-Platz, also appears in documents related to his activities in North Macedonia. At the same address is KLG Hauptstraße 83 Projekt GmbH, represented since summer 2025 by Adriana Savasci, formerly Todorović.

In September 2025, SJK&CO.WOHNBAU DOO from Kruševac entered this Austrian company as a new co-owner. According to Serbia’s business registry, that firm is owned by Jelena Vulićević, the same surname previously used by Aleksandar Mijajlović, identified by Serbian prosecutors as the organizer of the criminal group. SJK&CO.WOHNBAU DOO was registered in August last year for residential and non-residential construction.

At the company’s address on Ante Čolaka Street in Kruševac, the cadastral lists two apartments and one garage owned by Jelena Vulićević. The company itself is registered at a four-room apartment of 97 square meters. On all three properties, a ban on disposal was entered into the cadastral by order of the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office on February 6.

Robert Živković has no companies in Serbia, but according to cadastral data owns 76 properties in areas around Pirot, seven of which are buildings and the rest parcels.

Suspect Uroš Mladenovski, described by prosecutors as responsible for marijuana sales, owns the company Drugara Dva, based in New Belgrade and registered in May 2023 for restaurant activities. Shortly after his arrest, a notice was published initiating compulsory liquidation of the company. He owns no real estate in his name.

Despite the large cannabis seizures, authorities in North Macedonia have so far not announced any arrests. Official information on the investigation remains scarce, while unofficial details reaching the public are largely part of a political dispute between the ruling authorities and the opposition.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and the VMRO-DPMNE-led government say the seizures are part of a major operation against organized crime and illegal marijuana trade that must examine possible failures from previous years. Accusations have been directed at former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. Macedonian media have reported that seizures totaling 40 tons of marijuana across the country are linked to companies with family or business ties to individuals close to Zaev’s party and family. Some local outlets claim that seized cannabis and companies from the eastern part of the country are linked to Zaev’s brother, placing responsibility on the former government.

SDSM responded by accusing the current authorities of trying to divert attention from the question of how 5 tons of marijuana crossed the border into Serbia, while avoiding accountability for law enforcement under a government that has been in power for years. Zaev denied any connection to the cases and demanded an apology, announcing legal action if it was not forthcoming.

Beyond the exchange of accusations, Prime Minister Mickoski reiterated on February 8 that there was no information indicating the marijuana seized in Serbia originated in North Macedonia. He said that neither he nor the Interior Ministry had evidence to that effect and urged caution while what he described as the country’s largest anti-drug operation was ongoing. He added that while 40 tons had been seized so far, the total could reach 100 tons by the end of the operation, again pointing to irregularities and illegal activities among licensed medical cannabis companies linked to structures close to the former government.

In Serbia, there is also little information on how the suspects are connected to companies in North Macedonia, how the marijuana crossed the border, or whether state bodies or politicians were involved. One overlooked detail comes from a recent statement by Serbia’s chief organized crime prosecutor, Mladen Nenadić, who said that the 5 tons seizure came from a country where it is well known who owns cannabis companies and recalled a 2019 case involving the same country and marijuana. He suggested that linking certain data could reveal much more.

Nenadić did not specify further, but his remarks point to the 2019 “Jovanjica” case, when 66,000 cannabis plants were seized, allegedly intended for export to North Macedonia. The main defendant, Predrag Koluvija, owned or co-owned several companies in that country.

Based on currently available data, these links cannot be confirmed, nor can any direct political connections, aside from the indication already reported by the media: the seizure occurred at a property owned by SNS member Rade Spasojević, who is described as close to Minister Gašić.

Formally, Macedonian customs authorities are responsible for inspecting and controlling goods leaving the country, including verifying documentation and transport permits. Cannabis shipments must be properly registered and approved by the competent regulatory body, such as the Ministry of Health. Serbian customs, in turn, are responsible for inspecting goods entering the country, checking accompanying documentation, and identifying any suspicious or illegal substances, with an obligation to notify police and prosecutors.

In short, responsibility for checks at the point of exit from North Macedonia lies with Macedonian authorities, while Serbian authorities are responsible for entry controls and activating competent institutions upon discovering illegal cargo. Investigations on both sides now face the task of clarifying how such a large quantity of marijuana managed to pass through all oversight and control mechanisms.