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Ex-pro boxer Goran Gogic charged with trafficking over 20 tons of cocaine

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NEW YORK — Ex-heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic is facing federal drug charges after prosecutors said he was responsible for trafficking over 20 tons of cocaine valued at more than $1 billion.

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According to Reuters and USA Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York announced Monday that officials charged Gogic, 43, of Montenegro, with three counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the act.

Authorities arrested the former professional athlete Sunday night at Miami International Airport, where he was trying to catch a flight to Switzerland, federal prosecutors said in a news release. His indictment was unsealed Monday in Brooklyn, the release said.

“As alleged in the indictment and court documents, between May 2018 and July 2019, Gogic conspired with others to distribute massive quantities of cocaine via commercial cargo ships,” the release said. “Gogic coordinated with the sources of the cocaine in Colombia, the crewmembers who transported tons of cocaine on commercial cargo ships on the high seas, and the network of port workers who transported and offloaded the cocaine in Europe via the United States.”

Authorities said they seized 3,168 pounds of cocaine aboard the MSC Carlotta at the Port of New York and New Jersey in February 2019; 1,183 pounds aboard the MSC Desiree at the Port of Philadelphia in March 2019; and 39,586 pounds aboard the MSC Gayane at the Port of Philadelphia in June 2019. The latter was “one of the largest seizures of cocaine in United States history,” the release said.

“The arrest and indictment of Gogic, a former boxer allegedly responsible for trafficking a staggering amount of cocaine, more than 20 tons, which he attempted to move through U.S. ports, is a resounding victory for law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “The meticulous planning by the defendant and his co-conspirators failed to take into account the federal agents whose hard work resulted in this body blow to the organization and individuals responsible for distributing massive quantities of cocaine.”

Gogic said he is innocent, his attorney, Lawrence Hashish, said in an interview with USA Today.

Gogic, who will later be arraigned in New York, could face a prison sentence ranging from 10 years to life if he is convicted, prosecutors said.

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