EUROPOL on large-scale raid in Bosnia: Global drug kingpin’s inner circle taken down

 


April 24, 2024. Posted by  Periscope - Hellas

In a large-scale raid conducted yesterday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, law enforcement officers swarmed homes and offices of 23 persons suspected to be part of the ‘inner circle’ of a drug kingpin apprehended in November 2022.

Europol supported the action, which serves as another milestone in the fight against the so-called ‘super cartel’, an alliance of criminal networks that controlled much of Europe’s cocaine trade. As in operation ‘Desert Light’, several partners from around the globe collaborated to deal yet another major blow to this criminal structure. Over 40 locations were searched by officers active on the ground, who were joined by Europol specialists, as well as United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.

 

The primary objective of operation codenamed “Black Tie” was to indict and prosecute a Bosnian-Herzegovinian/Dutch national considered a High Value Target by Europol and the Netherlands. In 2023, the suspect was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking by Dutch authorities. Another operational objective was to disrupt the entire criminal organisation under the command and control of the High Value Target. This joint international investigation was comprised of Belgian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian, French, and United States law enforcement, supported by Europol, according to local media.

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