Bosnian authorities have detained three people accused of smuggling large amounts of a strong strain of marijuana, or ‘skunk’, from Albania, selling part of it in Bosnia and sending the rest over towards EU countries for distribution.

The three suspects were arrested early Tuesday morning when officers raided three locations in Eastern Sarajevo, Banjaluka and Prnjavor. Authorities said a large amount of illicit drugs were found, but did not specify how much.

The investigation which led to the police operation, dubbed ‘Nasljednik’, lasted several months and involved support from authorities in Austria.

The strain of marijuana the suspects allegedly smuggled was especially bred for its high potency, and the street value of a kilogram of it is estimated at about 3.000 Euro, prosecutors said.

They also said the three detainees had formed an organized drug smuggling network which twice sold between four and six kilograms of marijuana to undercover State Protection and Investigation Agency officers.