Former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic charged with trafficking over $1 billion worth of cocaine - CNN

CNN  — 

Former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic was charged with the maritime trafficking of implicit $1 cardinal worthy of cocaine done US ports, the US Department of Justice said connected Monday.

The 43-year-old Montenegrin was arrested connected Sunday nighttime arsenic helium tried to committee an planetary formation from Miami, the DOJ said successful a quality release.

Gogic has been charged with 1 number of conspiracy to interruption the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and 3 counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, according to tribunal documents. If convicted, helium faces a mandatory minimum condemnation of 10 years successful prison, with an precocious threshold of beingness successful prison, the DOJ said.

Breon Peace, US lawyer for the Eastern District of New York, described the quantities of cocaine that Gogic and his co-conspirators allegedly tried to determination arsenic “staggering” and noted that it was much than 20 tons.

Between May 2018 and July 2019, Gogic allegedly “conspired with others to administer monolithic quantities of cocaine” sourced from Colombia to Europe connected commercialized cargo ships loaded successful the US, according to the DOJ and tribunal documents.

The DOJ says US instrumentality enforcement officers seized 3 shipments of cocaine.

The largest of the 3 seizures happened astatine the Port of Philadelphia connected June 19, 2019, erstwhile astir 20 tons of cocaine were recovered hidden connected committee the MSC Gayane.

It was “one of the largest seizures of cocaine successful United States history” and worthy implicit $1 billion, the DOJ said.

Gogic’s lawyer Lawrence Hashish told CNN that helium was detained aft appearing successful national tribunal successful Miami connected Monday and that the charges came arsenic a astonishment to his client, adding that Gogic maintains his innocence, and helium had travel to the United States for a boxing normal successful Puerto Rico.

Hashish added that Gogic has a detention proceeding acceptable for November 7 successful Miami national court, but the day is taxable to alteration arsenic Gogic is presently successful quarantine successful the detention center.

CNN reached retired to the Consulate of Montenegro successful New York for comment.

Gogic’s boxing vocation spanned 11 years, from 2001 to 2012, according to BoxRec. He retired with a grounds of 21 wins, 4 defeats and 2 draws.