EUROPOL PARTICIPATION Details of police operation in seven countries: Main suspect from Bosnia and Herzegovina, criminal activities managed from prison

(Patria) - Croatian Ministry of Interior has released details of a major international operation that resulted in the arrest of 37 people. The operation was carried out in cooperation with EUROPOL in seven countries, and a criminal cell in the Western Balkans was dismantled. The main suspect is Dino Muzaferović, known as Cezar, who is serving a prison sentence.

An international law enforcement operation coordinated by EUROPOL has resulted in the arrest of 37 members of an extremely violent criminal cell from the Western Balkans. Led by a Bosnian citizen, this powerful criminal cell was primarily involved in large-scale drug and firearms trafficking across Europe.
 
On Wednesday, May 24, several simultaneous actions were carried out against the members of this gang in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Germany. These actions were coordinated from a command post in Zagreb, Croatia, with the support of EUROPOL officers deployed on the ground. A total of 37 suspects were arrested, including the group's leader – a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina whom EUROPOL considers a "high-value target" – who is currently serving a 4-year prison sentence in Italy.
 
Investigators managed to discover that the individual in question continued to lead his gang's criminal activities from his prison cell. It is believed that he regularly issued orders and instructions to his subordinates from there regarding drug and firearms trafficking.
 
Among the locations searched during the operation days were a prison cell in Belgium, a garage in the Netherlands used for storing cocaine, and several facilities in Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina where drugs, firearms, and explosives were kept.
 
Criminal investigation results: 37 arrests, 135,000 euros in cash, 4 pistols and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, 15 kilograms of cocaine, 8 kilograms of heroin, several fake passports/ID cards

Participating agencies: Austria: Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Belgium: Federal Judicial Police Antwerp, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federal Police Administration - Department for Combating Narcotic Drug Abuse Sarajevo, Croatia: Directorate of Police (Drug Crime Service) and Zagreb Police Department, Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime, Germany: ZKA - Customs Investigation Office Munich, Netherlands: Rotterdam Police, Slovenia – General Police Administration (Drug Division and Ljubljana Police Department), DEA office Zagreb, Europol - Drugs Unit.

Operational Task Force "Balkan Cartel"
 
This international operation followed a complex investigation led by the Croatian Directorate of Police within the operational task force "Balkan Cartel." Intelligence gathered by Europol after the recent takedown of three encrypted communication tools used by criminals – Encrochat, Sky ECC, and Anom – revealed the widespread presence of Balkan criminals in the global criminal environment.
 
To address this threat, Europol established the operational task force "Balkan Cartel," bringing together investigators from across Europe and the world to effectively respond to the threat emanating from the region. In addition to dismantling this network, activities carried out within this task force recently led to the dismantling of the largest drug trafficking organization in the Balkans in Serbia. Further results are expected to follow from the continued work of the task force.

More details on the results of the Croatian police:
 
Police officers for combating drug crime from the Directorate of Police and the Zagreb Police Department, and the Directorate of Criminal Police, in coordination with the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime, conducted a criminal investigation into 22 individuals aged 23 to 58 (citizens of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Serbia) on suspicion of committing criminal offenses of criminal association, unauthorized production and trafficking of drugs within a criminal association, and illegal possession, manufacture, and acquisition of weapons and explosives as part of a criminal association.
 
The criminal investigation is international in nature and was conducted in cooperation with the police forces of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Belgium, and customs authorities of Germany.  
 
It is suspected that the 37-year-old suspect, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a criminal association from at least the beginning of 2022 until the end of May 2023, and connected other suspects and currently unknown persons in joint action for the continuous procurement, smuggling, unauthorized sale, and unauthorized offering for sale of cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and cannabis resin, as well as the continuous unauthorized procurement, possession, and sale of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, all with the aim of gaining unlawful financial gain.

It is also suspected that the 37-year-old organized and financed the procurement of cocaine and drug-cutting agents, known as "fillers," in the Netherlands and Belgium, the procurement of cannabis and cannabis resin in Montenegro, and the procurement of heroin in Turkey. It is suspected that he organized the transport of drugs to Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the drugs were prepared for further unauthorized sale to other dealers from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also organized and financed the procurement and storage of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the transport of firearms to Croatia and their unauthorized sale. Furthermore, it is suspected that he financed the purchase of cars and the creation of secret compartments, known as "stekovi," in cars used for smuggling drugs and firearms, and that he transported money for drug purchases, financed the procurement of "encrypted" mobile phones used by members of the criminal association for communication. In addition to drugs and weapons, he also financed the rental of apartments and garages where members of the criminal association stayed and where drugs and weapons were hidden, financed all other costs incurred by the criminal association's activities, and made all key decisions regarding the method of smuggling, the structure, and the functioning of the criminal association itself.
 
In addition, it is suspected that the drugs smuggled from the Netherlands, Belgium, Montenegro, and Turkey were transported to Croatia with the help of "couriers-smugglers," according to prior instructions from the 37-year-old, to rented garages and apartments in Zagreb, to Slovenia, to rented garages and apartments at addresses in Ljubljana, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina. There, the drugs would be hidden and prepared for further unauthorized sale, i.e., mixed with fillers, weighed, and packaged. According to further instructions from the 37-year-old, the drugs would be delivered to buyers in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Regarding firearms, ammunition, and explosives, they were procured, stored, and hidden in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the instructions of the 37-year-old. Some firearms were also kept in Croatia and Germany.
 
Specifically, before his arrest in Germany and while he was in prison in Germany and Italy, the suspect, the 37-year-old, engaged some of the suspects (34, 33, 39, 32, 35) as trusted individuals responsible for further relaying information and giving instructions on the criminal association's activities, related to the procurement, possession, and sale of drugs and weapons, as well as for carrying out specific tasks and assigning other suspects to particular tasks, and for taking care of apartments and garages, and for the procurement and use of vehicles for the association's needs, and also for payments to other members of the association, suppliers, and couriers, as well as for collecting money from the sale of drugs and weapons.
 
Each member of the criminal association had specific tasks, such as procurement and purchase of drugs, transport of drugs, money, and members of the criminal association, collecting money from drug sales and preparing money for future drug deliveries, finding and renting apartments and garage spaces where weapons were hidden and drugs were weighed, repackaged, and mixed with fillers, procuring cars used for drug smuggling, as well as further unauthorized sale of drugs to other dealers, and performing other logistical tasks necessary for the functioning of the criminal association. Some of them were responsible for translation services during negotiations related to the commission of criminal offenses. The transport of drugs by truck was also handled by a suspect who owns a truck and trailer through his business, and he found and organized legal truck tours in which drugs were transported among legal goods.
 
In the described manner, through procurement, storage, and sale, the criminal association handled at least 23 kg of cocaine, at least 86 kg of heroin, at least 120 kg of cannabis, and at least 100 kg of cannabis resin – with a total value of at least 3,456,000.00 euros, as well as at least 11 pistols, one automatic rifle, 6,000 pistol rounds, and 20 kg of explosives.
 
After the criminal investigation was completed, police officers handed over eight suspects to the detention supervisor, while a criminal complaint against 22 individuals was filed with the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13 locations and seven individuals were searched.