The story
Police reported finding about 13,100 cannabis plants in Trnovo, in Montenegro’s Bar municipality, on 24 August 2025. Officers arrested two men at the site and described the plantation as the largest discovered in the country. The investigation continued into 2026, bringing another arrest and complaints against two further suspects.[1][2][3]
Eight plots formed one growing site
The operation followed months of police and prosecutorial work coordinated with the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica. Police described eight connected plots containing plants in full growth, with irrigation and security equipment. Officers collected evidence and cut down cannabis plants.[1]
The two men arrested at the site were aged 40 and 65, from Zeta and Bar. Police suspected unlawful drug production, possession and distribution. Searches also covered homes and three vehicles at four locations used by the suspects and people connected with them.[1]
A third arrest followed in October
On 29 October 2025, the Police Directorate announced the arrest of a 31-year-old man from Bar, identified as N.D. Its statement recalled the earlier discovery and two arrests, and said investigators were continuing to identify people involved in growing and distributing the cannabis.[2]
The October statement again put the plantation at about 13,100 plants. Police described their work as an investigation into a network producing, distributing and smuggling drugs.[2]
Forensic work brought two further complaints
On 3 March 2026, police announced supplementary criminal complaints against two men from Zeta, aged 42 and 49. Investigators cited examinations of traces, forensic results, collected information and analysis of other evidence.[3]
The statement distinguished these two further complaints from the three people already processed. Police said they were still working with prosecutors to identify anyone else connected with the case.[3]
Production carried a prison sentence
The Criminal Code’s ordinary offence of unlawful drug production or sale carried two to ten years in prison. Organising a network of dealers or intermediaries carried three to fifteen years, and drugs and production equipment were subject to confiscation and destruction.[4]
Montenegro also had a separate licensed route for food and industrial hemp. Its 2014 permit rules covered crops with at most 0.2% THC in dry plant material and required information about the land, certified seed and whole-crop buyer.[5]
The Montenegro profile explains those cultivation controls and the penalties for personal possession and supply.
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Montenegro here.
References
- Vijesti, republished by N1 — Montenegro police find a cannabis plantation in Trnovo2025 · 24 August; police statement on eight connected plots, about 13,100 plants and two arrestsarchived
- Montenegro Police Directorate — third suspect arrested in the Trnovo investigation2025 · 29 October; N.D., aged 31, from Bar; retrospective confirmation of the August operation
- Montenegro Police Directorate — complaints against two further Trnovo suspects2026 · 3 March; A.M., aged 42, and M.V., aged 49, from Zeta; forensic work and supplementary criminal complaints
- Montenegro — Criminal Code, consolidation through Gazette 121/20252025 · Articles 300–301: production, supply, import for supply, giving drugs and making premises available; statutory reproduction
- Montenegro — hemp and poppy cultivation permit rules, 20142014 · Articles 1–6; signed 24 June, published 30 June, effective 8 July 2014; dry-matter THC ceiling and 1 May hemp-land notification deadline
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.