Two men from Kičevo threw a package of white powdery substance out of the car window while police were signalling them to stop. The package was found and seized, and both ended up with 30 days of detention each in Bitola prison.

The incident took place on 11 August at 21:30 in the village of Srbjani, near Kičevo. Officers from the Kičevo police station detained I.B., 43, and A.L., 29, both from Kičevo. The „Peugeot” with Kičevo plates was being driven by the older of the two.

Here the story gains a second layer. While the measures were being taken, it was established that I.B. had been driving the vehicle during an active ban on operating a category B motor vehicle. So a man whose licence was taken away by a court is driving with drugs in the car - and that came to light in a routine check, not in an investigation.

On the public prosecutor's order the vehicle was seized, and the Kičevo police filed a criminal complaint with the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office. A pre-trial judge ordered 30 days of detention for both.

The same day, the Interior Ministry reported a second case. On 12 August at 23:00 in Skopje, officers from the Skopje police detained P.P., 29, after a white lumpy substance was found on him. Under a warrant from the Basic Criminal Court, a search was carried out at the home where he is staying, where marijuana was found.

Three arrests in two municipalities in 48 hours, all uncovered through field work rather than through big operations with press conferences. That is the part of police work that does not make it into ministers' announcements - and it is precisely the part that is worth the most.