The police of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of international agencies, searched dozens of locations and arrested 23 people suspected of working for the head of a European drug cartel, the European Union's police agency Europol announced yesterday.
Several high-ranking police officials suspected of organized crime and money laundering are among those arrested in actions carried out in Sarajevo, Mostar and Zenica on Monday, according to the statement of the Chief Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among others, acting director of the Federation of BiH Police (FUP) Vehid Munjić, head of the FUP Special Police Mustafa Selmanović, Sarajevo businessman Gordan Memija, as well as director of the Cantonal Hospital in Zenica Tarik Zulović were arrested.
The State Security Agency SIPA announced that the authorities temporarily froze the bank accounts of the suspects and suspended all financial transactions. Evidence against the group was said to include encrypted phone calls.
The action in Bosnia and Herzegovina was carried out as part of the fight against the so-called "supercartel", an alliance of criminal networks led by Edin Gačanin, known as Tito, which controlled most of the European cocaine trade.
The operation codenamed "Black Tie" involved Belgian, Bosnian, and French police services, as well as agents from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the FBI, according to Europol's statement.
Europol said the main objective of the operation was to capture the inner circle of a Bosnian-Dutch drug lord who was sentenced to seven years in prison in the Netherlands last year, but may still manage the drug trade from South America to Europe and Australia.
"Despite his arrest in November 2022, the investigation showed that the 'high value target' continued to direct drug trafficking from countries in South America such as Brazil, Colombia and Peru to Europe and Australia from his base in Dubai," it said. Europol announcement.
Europol did not name the drug lord, but Bosnian media reported that it was clear that it was Gačanin, who was among 49 suspects arrested in 2022 in coordinated raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
Edin Gačanin is the biggest Balkan drug lord, who has Dutch citizenship, and has been on the American "blacklist" since March last year, Beta reported. In addition to the prison sentence, he was sentenced in the Netherlands to a fine of one million euros for drug smuggling. Gačanin is also suspected of being responsible for the production of synthetic drugs in the EU.
Europol pointed out that among those arrested yesterday were not only facilitators, but also corrupt officials identified as facilitators of the network's criminal activities.
"Prior to this action, BiH authorities had already arrested two suspects and seized EUR 55.000 in cash, eight firearms, 11 police radios and documentation on money laundering. On the day of the action, the law enforcement services additionally seized cash, cars, laptop computers and seized other evidence," the announcement states.
It said Monday's arrests were "another milestone" in the fight against the syndicate of criminal networks.
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