Montenegro’s Police have initiated an investigation after the discovery of an underground tunnel connecting an apartment building to a courthouse warehouse used to store confiscated narcotics and other evidence related to criminal cases.

The tunnel was uncovered beneath the Supreme Court building in Podgorica, according to Interior Minister Filip Adžić.

During a press conference, Chief Justice Boris Savić assured the public that preliminary checks revealed “no missing items” from the warehouse.

The Interior Minister described the operation as a “carefully planned and meticulously executed action that had been in preparation for months, resembling scenes from action movies”. He revealed that the apartment serving as the starting point for the underground tunnel had been rented several months prior.

Footage released by Montenegro’s state television depicts a sizable opening in the wall behind what appears to be shelving within the courthouse warehouse, where evidence for legal proceedings is stored.

According to data provided by state authorities, the courthouse warehouse in Podgorica has housed approximately 9.5 tons of various types of drugs over the past nearly three years, including approximately two tons of cocaine and roughly seven tons of marijuana.

The entrance to the tunnel within the courthouse building was discreetly located within the warehouse, as Chief Justice Boris Savić explained, highlighting that “the culprits painstakingly dug into the building’s foundations over the course of several months to gain access”.

Montenegro, a small coastal nation bordering the Adriatic Sea and a member of NATO, has made commitments to combat organized crime and corruption while pursuing membership in the European Union. It has long been recognized as a major conduit for drug trafficking into Western Europe.