The Kosovo Police announced early on Sunday that it had uncovered a drug laboratory in a village in the northern city of Leposavic and arrested a suspect for the case in Jarinje, the border point with Serbia.

The police said in a media statement that it had received information on Saturday that in a house in the village of Graniçan in Leposavic, it was suspected that cannabis plants were being cultivated.

The anti-drug unit arrived at the scene, and “during the raid in a room of the house, around 23 suspected cannabis plants were found and seized, ranging in height from 40 centimeters to 1.85 meters, as well as other accessories needed for the improvisation of the laboratory (pots, ventilation, etc.),” the statement said.

The 43-year-old suspect was identified and apprehended at the border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia, Jarinje, according to the statement. He has been placed in custody for 48 hours upon the order of the prosecutor handling the case.

The police said that a portion of the suspected cannabis plants was taken as samples for laboratory testing, while the remaining portion was destroyed upon the prosecutor’s order.

This is not the first time the Kosovo Police has conducted operations against drugs in the northern part of Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Serbs.

At the beginning of last year, the police uncovered three drug laboratories in North Mitrovica.

Similarly, in May 2022, the police had destroyed two drug laboratories in Izvor, near the border with Serbia, where large quantities of narcotic plants, including marijuana, were found. In April of that year, a drug laboratory in Zvecan was destroyed, and four Serbs were arrested.