HEARING IN COURT Who were the members of Edin Gačanin's group, interested in politics and security in BiH, information leaked from OSA

By: Amra Vrabac

A hearing was held at the Court of BiH regarding the BiH Prosecutor's Office's motion to detain 18 individuals arrested in the Black Tie 2 operation, which was carried out at multiple locations in Sarajevo, Zenica, and Mostar. Measures prohibiting leaving the country were proposed for five individuals, and the acting prosecutor Sanjin Kulenović requested detention for 18.

In his presentation before judge Tatjana Kosović, prosecutor Sanjin Kulenović stated that the suspects committed the criminal offenses of organized crime, including money laundering, abuse of office or authority, accepting rewards or gifts for trading influence, and disclosure of secret information.

The Prosecutor's Office suspects some of the arrested individuals of organizing a group with Edin Gačanin Tito from 2016 to March 2021 to prepare and commit criminal offenses, all for the purpose of gaining unlawful property benefits, which is reflected in the acquisition of illegal funds in an amount known to them, such that each of them was aware of and knew their specific tasks to launder such money in Bosnia and Herzegovina by purchasing real estate, land for construction, establishing legal entities, giving donations, and financing certain political parties.

The Prosecutor's Office claims that the group members knew that the money originated from the criminal offense of drug trafficking and the sale of narcotic drugs by the drug cartel known as "Tito and Dino." Some of the information was obtained by decrypting Sky phones that the group members used for communication.

Some group members were related to Gačanin, and they received protected communication equipment from Gačanin, directly or indirectly, i.e., mobile phones with the Sky ECC application installed.

As stated in the motion, Gačanin had two so-called "cash desks" set up, one located in Sarajevo and the other in the Netherlands, and the money was used for various activities.

Adnan Smajlović was in charge of the cash desk in Sarajevo, and in early August 2020, Gačanin made KM 500,000 available, which was distributed to group members.

Group members took money, about which Smajlović informed Gačanin, who determined the amounts given to the group members. Part of that money was used for helicopter training for Smajlović and Aida Halać, which they attended in Belgrade, to transport Gačanin.

Kadrić on the arrival of the NIP president in Dubai

The BiH Prosecutor's Office's motion describes the role of Dženis Kadrić, who was arrested in an earlier operation and is in detention, stating that he, along with Haris Behram, planned to establish a new political party or invest in existing parties. In that communication via Sky messages, Kadrić mentioned amounts in the millions.

"Kadrić mentions that the leaders of one of the parties from Bosnia and Herzegovina should come to Dubai for a meeting, regarding potential agreement on financial assistance, and that he has 'arranged' for them to come from the People and Justice party, specifically the president, stating that he will offer them to work as they wish or otherwise they will form their own party, emphasizing that they want to create the strongest party, stating that radical measures should be taken, i.e., force and intimidation of the people," the motion states.

Regarding the arrested Gordan Memija, it is stated that he, along with Sead Preljević, Davor Curlo, and Ermin Alamerović, participated in organizing the visit of Edin Gačanin Tito to Sarajevo in September 2016 and in organizing the procurement and donation of special police uniforms to the Special Police Unit of the FUP FMUP in the period 2016/2017.

As described, Curlo and Preljević handed over the sum of EUR 320,000 to Gordan Memija in the Mejtaš settlement in mid-2016, which they had previously illegally transported from Belgium, although they knew it originated from criminal activities, and that they received the money from Elmir Sarić and his wife Nathalie on Gačanin's orders.

After receiving the money, Memija, on Gačanin's instructions, organized the arrival, reception, car rental, booking of rooms at the Bristol Hotel, and provided personal security for Gačanin, which included FUP officers Dženis Kadrić, Senad Kadić, Emir Druškić, and Adin Ćatić.

The Prosecutor's Office claims that these services were paid for by Memija, in agreement and with the consent of Mustafa Selmanović, commander of the Special Police Unit. It is stated that Selmanović also received an expensive watch.

According to the Prosecutor's Office's claims, they laundered that money, although they knew it originated from illegal activities.

The procurement of equipment for the FUP was entrusted to Emir Alamerović, known as Kiki, Memija's business partner, and the procurement was carried out through the company Rhea Express.

Acting Director of the FUP, Vahidin Munjinović, is accused of failing to fulfill his duties as head of the Professional Standards Unit and of knowingly failing to initiate internal and disciplinary proceedings for the accountability of police officers. In early 2024, he made a Decision to change job positions in the FUP for which a permit for access to classified information is required, by excluding about 20 positions and deciding that a permit for access to classified information is not required, and assigned Ćatić, Druškić, and Kadić, who had their permits for access to classified information revoked, to these positions, thereby enabling them property benefits and causing damage to the budget of the FBiH.

OSA member disclosed secret information

Regarding Edin Kačar, an OSA member, it was stated that he had daily contact with Adnan Smajlović and Boško Jerković, whom he knew to be members of Edin Gačanin's group, and that he provided them with OSA documents for which he received certain monetary amounts of at least KM 100,000 and caused damage to BiH's security, considering that the data pertained to organized criminal groups of interest to BiH's security.
Regarding legal entities, including companies from Sarajevo and Mostar owned by the suspects, the suspicion is that they laundered money for the Tito and Dino cartel.

Prosecutor Kulenović pointed out that this group, under Gačanin's leadership, operated on a special protected communication channel called Circle, and that servers were found during searches in Sarajevo.

Regarding Adna Helić, for whom prohibition measures were requested, it is stated that she repeatedly brought large sums of money from Dubai to BiH, for which she took a commission of 6-7 percent.

Through decrypted Sky messages, it is evident that Gačanin provided monetary amounts to group members and that they had specific tasks related to drug trafficking itself.
The Prosecutor's Office viewed this group, or rather Edin Gačanin's intentions, through the lens of "taking over the state."

Gačanin is interested in politics and security in BiH

Through group members, Gačanin contacted members and officials of certain political parties, promising and offering them support in the form of financing election activities, and he was particularly interested in the political situation before the 2020 local elections.

Regarding the three FUP police officers, the BiH Prosecutor's Office charges them with abuse of office or authority and accepting gifts.

Tarik Zulović, the director of the Zenica Cantonal Hospital, who was arrested in this operation, is related to Gačanin. Gačanin gave him a phone with the Sky application, and Zulović also received significant amounts of money from the cash desk managed by Smajlović.

The prosecutor stated that prohibition measures would not be adequate and that the criminal proceedings would be difficult and impossible, and that if they were released, they could destroy evidence and influence witnesses.

The prosecutor announced expert examinations of a large number of seized phones, communications, computers, analysis of business documentation, and financial investigations.

Defense vs. BiH Prosecutor's Office

All defense teams of the suspects requested that the Court dismiss the motion for detention or, if deemed necessary, impose prohibition measures.

All suspects are citizens of BiH, except for Gordan Memija, who also holds Dutch citizenship, while one of the suspects is a citizen of Serbia but does not have valid documents.

The defense teams stated that the Prosecutor's Office's motion was perfunctory, arbitrary, and vague, and that the information presented was based on operational findings and statements from three witnesses: Ibri Bešlija, Elvir Hubjer, and Marina Zović, and that the Prosecutor's Office had not verified these claims. The defense teams of the three police officers and Selmanović particularly attacked police officer Zović, claiming that she signed a report stating that the equipment procurement was in order, but had now changed her stance.

Vlado Adamović, Zulović's defense attorney, stated that no criminal offense was described in relation to his client and that he expected him to be released.

Haris Behram addressed the court after his lawyer, stating that after media reports mentioning his name, he himself asked SIPA to investigate everything.

"I couldn't wait for them to come. I gave them everything, I didn't delete anything. There's no reason for me to run anywhere, I want to prove my innocence as soon as possible," Behram said.

The lawyers objected to the BiH Prosecutor's Office's evidence and the claims that the suspects own certain companies, stating that this was not true.

Senad Dupovac, the defense attorney for Smail Šikala, stated that no criminal offense was described in relation to his client either.

Mirsad Crnovršanin, a lawyer defending four suspected members of the Federal Police Administration, stated that he did not understand what these police officers were doing in the courtroom and asked the prosecutor if there was any report of a criminal offense being committed.

He emphasized that his clients were illegally deprived of their liberty and that there was panic in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton.

"We are witnesses to the public perception that my clients have been characterized as members of Edin Gačanin's organized group. There is no mention of any of my clients in the Sky communication. Until 2019, police and judicial institutions did not even know who Edin Gačanin was. We are dealing with neighborhood gossip," Crnovršanin said.

He stated that Gačanin was presented in 2016 as a successful businessman dealing in real estate and diamonds.

"I don't see what is problematic about someone socializing with Edin Gačanin," he said, adding that these police officers were not aware of Gačanin's illegal activities.

Senad Kadić also addressed the court, stating that a target had been placed on their backs since 2019.

Alena Begović, the defense attorney for Mustafa Selmanović, listed all the actions taken by the FUP regarding internal proceedings against these police officers and regarding the procurement of equipment and donations.
The lawyer emphasized that the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for verifying companies or individuals donating equipment and for conducting a complete check, and that the Special Police Unit did not participate in this donation.

Selmanović also addressed the court, expressing regret for the torture they were enduring and stating that his life had been turned upside down.

"They also reported me for having some submarine to transport drugs to Neum. These are absurdities," said Selmanović, who emphasized that he had given everything for this country and had been in active service for over 30 years.

The defense of Vahidin Munjinović emphasized that they opposed the imposition of detention and asked in whose interest it was to leave the FUP and SPJ without leadership in such a security situation.

She pointed out that the former director of the FUP, Ensad Korman, who was the director before Munjinović, should also be in the courtroom to explain why there were no proceedings against the police officers.

Munjinović himself stated that he only learned about the escort of Edin Gačanin Tito in 2019 and that, as head of the Professional Standards Unit, he ordered an internal investigation into that case and the equipment procurement.

He stated that these police officers had committed a serious breach of official duty because they were on sick leave but left the country and escorted Gačanin to the Republic of Croatia.

"The statute of limitations had passed, and we could not conduct disciplinary proceedings," he said, adding that he did change the decision on job positions, which allowed these three police officers to remain in service despite not having access to classified information.

The defense of Sead Preljević requested the Court to dismiss the motion for detention and denied all charges brought against him by the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

They claim that he received a summons for questioning as a witness but was arrested. His apartment was searched, and a large number of computers and hard drives were seized. As the defense confirmed, he owns a craft business and works in the IT sector for several companies in addition to his regular employment at Al Jazeera Balkans.

Preljević himself addressed the court, denying knowing Gordan Memija.

"I did not receive, I did not transport, I did not hand over, I did not see anyone handing over any money to a third party. I am seeing Mr. Sarić and Memija for the first time today," Preljević said.

Dijana Hasić, the lawyer representing Davor Curlo, stated that the BiH Prosecutor's Office could not decide which criminal offense her client had committed and that the entire motion was absurd. She emphasized that her client had held important positions for years and had a high monthly income, so he had no need to engage in any illicit activities.

Curl himself addressed the court, stating that he had worked for the OHR and the US ambassador for years, had undergone the strictest controls, and was not even allowed to have any contact with criminal groups.

The defense teams of Gordan Memija and OSA member Edin Kačar also addressed the court, also requesting that the Court dismiss the motion for detention.