The arrested high-ranking police officers in Bosnia and Herzegovina are part of the "inner circle" of drug lord Edin Gačanin, who was arrested in November last year, according to a statement by Europol, which was transmitted by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Since March of last year, Gačanin has been on the "blacklist" of the United States Treasury Department (OFAC), which stated that he is one of the world's largest drug traffickers. American authorities labeled him the leader of the "Tito" and "Dino" cartel, which includes members of his family and friends from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Europol adds that, in addition to multi-country narcotics smuggling efforts, Gačanin's money laundering cartel is closely linked to the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, a criminal organization that OFAC has previously sanctioned as a significant transnational criminal organization.
Namely, in the raid on April 22 in BiH, 23 people were arrested.
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Among those arrested are high-ranking officials of police agencies and law enforcement institutions who are suspected of criminal acts of organized crime, money laundering, receiving gifts and other forms of benefit, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, and abuse of official position or authority.
The police action was carried out at more than 30 locations in the Sarajevo Canton area, and searches were carried out of residential buildings, motor vehicles, and premises of legal entities. Within the scope of the case, evidence was collected from encrypted applications.
"The primary objective of the operation was to indict and prosecute a Bosnian/Dutch citizen who is considered a 'high value target' by Europol and the Netherlands. The suspect was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Dutch authorities in 2023 for drug trafficking. The second operational objective was to break up the entire criminal organization under command and control of a 'high-value target'. This joint international investigation was carried out by Belgian, Bosnian, French and American law enforcement agencies, with the support of Europol," the statement said.
International support was provided by the US FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Europol.
Europol adds that despite the arrest in November 2022, the investigation showed that the "High Value Target" continued to direct drug trafficking from source countries in South America, such as Brazil, Colombia and Peru, to Europe and Australia from its base in Dubai ( United Arab Emirates).
"Cooperating with other major international drug traffickers in Dubai, with whom he co-invested in multi-ton cocaine smuggling ventures, the Bosnia-Herzegovina/Dutch national became a powerful figure controlling the massive supply of cocaine to Europe and other destinations. Furthermore, a 'high value target' is suspected and that it is responsible for the production of synthetic drugs in the EU," it said.
The Europol announcement also emphasizes that the police action serves as another turning point in the fight against the so-called "super cartel", an alliance of criminal networks that controlled a large part of the European cocaine trade.
Who were arrested?
Europol's statement also states that among the 23 arrested are not only facilitators, but also "corrupt officials, identified as facilitators of the network's criminal activities."
"Prior to this operation, BiH authorities had already arrested two suspects and seized EUR 55.000 in cash, eight firearms, 11 police radio stations and documentation on money laundering. On the day of the operation, law enforcement authorities additionally confiscated cash, cars, laptops and seized other evidence," it is emphasized.
It is also stated that in June of last year the BiH Prosecutor's Office sent a request for information to Europol, after which the police agency sent two experts with mobile offices to Bosnia and Herzegovina to collect and cross-check intelligence data and help in further coordination of activities.
"Europol supported BiH authorities in an investigation against a narrow group or 'inner circle' of trusted members of a criminal organization of 'high-value targets'. Among other crimes, the case in the domestic judiciary focused on serious crimes, such as large-scale drug trafficking , money laundering and related organized crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina," the statement added.
At the same time, the announcement of the Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) on April 23 states that as part of the police operation, the accounts of nine commercial banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina were checked for eight legal entities and eight natural persons.
"On that occasion, temporary suspensions of transactions in the total amount of 614.204,80 convertible marks, 23.906,44 euros and 2261,00 US dollars were carried out for the legal and natural persons in question. While working on the case in one of the commercial banks, a safe was searched, while the other safe is blocked," it concludes.
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