Suspected drug trafficking pirate nicknamed ‘pirate of the unknown’ handed over to US authorities

A Montenegrin citizen nicknamed the “pirate of the unknown” has been extradited from Italy to New York City to face charges related to an international drug trafficking ring. Milos Radonjic, 34, arrived in Brooklyn on Friday and is set to be arraigned in federal court on Monday. He was indicted by a federal grand jury last year alongside several individuals on charges of conspiracy and attempt to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

Radonjic is believed to have been a senior member of a transnational drug organization that used commercial cargo ships, some of which were registered to transport goods to the U.S., to move large quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe for Balkan drug cartels. Court documents suggest that crew members of the ships were complicit in the alleged trafficking activities.

According to U.S. authorities, Radonjic and his associates coordinated the delivery of drugs using speedboats to transfer the substances to cargo ships in the open seas near Colombia and Ecuador. Prosecutors have stated that the narcotics trafficked by Radonjic have played a role in the overdose and drug addiction crisis in the United States and globally.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, highlighted the significance of Radonjic’s arrest and extradition, emphasizing that the rule of law extends even to the high seas. Peace’s office mentioned that Radonjic had not yet been provided with legal representation as of Saturday.

Radonjic was apprehended in Italy in October while preparing to captain a yacht in an international race. While the names of others indicted alongside Radonjic have not been disclosed by U.S. authorities, they confirmed that the individuals were not in U.S. custody at the time of Radonjic’s extradition.