Gorazd Filimonovic and Gasper Urbanc, both Slovenian nationals, received prison sentences of 10 and 13 years, respectively, for conspiring to import significant quantities of heroin into the United States. This announcement was made by Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Podolsky stated, “Gorazd Filimonovic, Gasper Urbanc, and their co-conspirators agreed to send a staggering amount of heroin to the United States. The defendants boasted of their connections to other drug traffickers in Europe and claimed they had experience in trafficking thousands of kilograms of drugs. But today, all of that comes to an end as Filimonovic and Urbanc will serve lengthy prison sentences. This Office, through its longstanding partnership with the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, will continue to prosecute those who seek to harm our communities by flooding our streets with dangerous drugs.”
According to court filings and discussions, Filimonovic and Urbanc were involved in a scheme from November 2020 to April 2021 to transport heroin from Austria and other locations to the U.S. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been investigating their activities since 2019, when Urbanc was identified as an international cocaine trafficker responsible for organizing drug transportation for a drug trafficking organization.
Confidential sources negotiated with Filimonovic, Urbanc, and their associates to purchase large amounts of cocaine and heroin for the U.S. market. The group claimed extensive experience trafficking drugs internationally and had connections to production facilities. Meetings with confidential sources occurred globally, including in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, and Colombia, where they discussed ways to elude authorities.
Negotiations eventually shifted to heroin, with Urbanc offering immediate availability from various European locations. By February 2021, an agreement was in place to supply high-quality heroin for further distribution in the U.S. In March 2021, a price between €18,000 and €19,000 ($21,600 and $22,800) per kilogram was agreed upon. Filimonovic and a co-conspirator met with a confidential source in Graz, Austria, to explain the transportation logistics. By April 2021, they had agreed to supply up to 135 kilograms of heroin in segments in exchange for €2.6 million ($3.1 million). However, communications between the parties continued until Filimonovic and Urbanc were arrested in Croatia in May 2021.
The U.S. prosecution of this case was supported by collaboration with international law enforcement agencies, including the Slovenia National Bureau of Investigation, the Austrian Federal and State Criminal Police, and the Croatian National Police. The prosecution is managed by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit, with several U.S. attorneys leading the efforts.