A former professional boxer who entered the drug trade after leaving the ring now faces decades behind bars.
Goran Gogic was taken into custody Sunday night while trying to flee from Miami to Zurich, Switzerland. He is accused of running a billion-dollar operation that trafficked cocaine from Columbia to Europe via the United States.
Before attempting to evade capture, the 43-year-old was indicted by a grand jury in New York. This indictment came after 22 tons of cocaine was located on three commercial cargo ships in February, March, and June of 2019. During the June bust, which was one of the biggest in American history, the MSC Gayane was docked at Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, and 19.8 tons of illegal narcotics were found on board. An investigation learned that between May 2018 and July 2019, Gogic allegedly coordinated the entire operation. Along with his conspirators, he learned the ins and outs of shipments, routes, location data, and hiding spaces that could store drugs. The team of traffickers would then use cranes and nets at night to retrieve the cocaine from speedboats and place them on the cargo ships.
Gogic embarked on a successful boxing career from 2001 until 2012. The heavyweight fighter from Pljevlja, Montenegro, competed in 27 fights throughout his career, mainly in Germany. He won 21 matches, lost four, and two ended in a draw. Of his wins, 14 were knockouts.
In a statement, Gogic’s lawyer Lawrence Hashish said, “These charges came as a surprise to him. He maintains his innocence and had come to the U.S. for a boxing convention in Puerto Rico.”
The pro-boxer has officially been charged with three counts of violating the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and one count of conspiracy. He is due back in court on November 7th.
