Actress Detained in Drug Smuggling Bust in North Macedonia

One of the best-known TV and theatre actresses in North Macedonia, Silvija Stojanovska, was placed under house arrest on Thursday for alleged connections to a cocaine smuggling ring.

In news that shocked the public, Stojanovska was detained on Thursday evening. The Skopje criminal court later said it had placed her under 30 days of house arrest, on suspicion of illegal drug trading.

Another person, identified only as V.B. was also arrested in the same bust and placed in detention, the court said.

North Macedonia's Interior Ministry on Friday did not reveal any more details about the case.

"When the time comes, more info will be presented," the ministry said in a brief answer it sent to Deutsche Welle.

Unconfirmed reports quoted by the media said the arrests in North Macedonia were part of a wider, international drug-busting operation.

Telma TV, citing its own unnamed sources, said Stojanovska was suspected of providing logistical support to a group of cocaine smugglers who were arrested in September in Spain, where police seized some 700 kilos of the drug.

The same media outlet claimed that Stojanovska was being linked to two citizens of North Macedonia, both brothers, one of whom has been living in Skopje and the other in Madrid, with Belgian citizenship

News of the arrest stunned the public as Stojanovska is one of the biggest stars in North Macedonia, a seasoned theatre actress and a star in a popular TV series, "The Markovski Family".