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Bosnian, German and regional police arrested three suspects and seized millions of euros in assets this week in a coordinated crackdown on a major cell of the so-called Balkan Cartel, authorities said Thursday.
Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) said the operation, carried out December 10 in Germany and supported by agencies in Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, targeted a transnational criminal network involved in multi-tonne cocaine shipments from Colombia to Europe. SIPA said its officers contributed intelligence, analysis and field coordination.
Europol, which supported the operation, said the suspects were identified as high-value targets residing in Germany and believed to be key figures in the cartel. More than 500 officers searched 45 homes, businesses and vehicles in Germany and other participating countries, seizing more than five million euros ($5.87 million) in suspected criminal assets.
Authorities recovered about 50,000 euros ($58,700) in cash, luxury items, three high-value vehicles, real estate in Germany and abroad, documents, electronics and a loaded firearm. The evidence remains under review. SIPA said the network also laundered money through companies and property across multiple countries and was involved in weapons trafficking.
Europol said the group’s members included financiers, coordinators and logistics specialists. The main suspect, a resident of Germany of Western Balkans origin, is known for using a distinctive cocaine logo as a trademark. Both agencies said the action followed years of cooperation that previously produced several major waves of arrests against the Balkan Cartel.
In a separate international operation also announced Thursday, Serbia’s Interior Ministry said Spanish police arrested 17 members of a drug-trafficking network—including eight Serbian nationals—and seized 1.1 tonnes of cocaine, weapons and cash.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said the operation, supported by Europol, was conducted with Spanish, Colombian and Slovenian police. He said the Serbian suspects are accused of providing logistics and equipment for receiving cocaine shipments sent by sea from Colombia, helping store the drugs and coordinating distribution with several Spanish criminal groups.
Dačić said another Serbian citizen—along with three Slovenian nationals and one Bulgarian—was placed under a travel ban as part of the same case.
