A former heavyweight boxer from Montenegro has been charged by the US Justice Department with trafficking 22 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion, Reuters reported.

Goran Gogic, 43, was arrested Sunday night as he tried to board a flight to Zurich from Miami International Airport after being indicted in New York.

Prosecutors charged Gogic with three counts of violating the federal Maritime Narcotics Act and one count of conspiracy.

Each charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a possible life sentence.

Gogic was taken into custody after a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Lisette Reed in Miami, his lawyer said.

The next hearing is scheduled for November 7.

The charges stem from the seizures of 22 tons of cocaine on three commercial cargo ships in 2019.

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Prosecutors said the conspirators transported cocaine to Europe from Colombia through U.S. ports, using cranes and nets at night to load drugs onto cargo ships from approaching speedboats along the ships' routes.

The complex operation required knowledge of each ship's crew, route and location details, and having space to store drugs in shipping containers already on board, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Gogic ran the logistics, coordinating with crew members, Colombian traffickers and European dockers to benefit himself and his Balkan-based cartels.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn called Gogic's arrest and indictment "a clear victory for law enforcement."

Lawrence Hashish, Gogich's attorney, said the allegations took his client by surprise.

"He claims he is innocent and came to the US for a boxing convention in Puerto Rico," the lawyer said.

Gogic was a boxer from 2001 to 2012, winning 21 fights and losing four with two draws, according to Reuters.

detained

drug smuggling