Kosovo: Son of Hunted Crime Boss Arrested

Published: 24 September 2012

By OCCRP

Elvis Kelmendi, son of alleged Albanian mafia boss Naser Kelmendi, was arrested Saturday on an international warrant issued by Interpol in Bosnia Herzegovina, according to local media reports. Those reports say he is charged with attempted murder and other offenses.

Kelmendi and his father have long been sought by the international law enforcement community, both being featured on Interpol’s list of wanted criminals. Earlier this year, Naser Kelmendi became the first suspected European drug trafficker to be added to the United States’ “black list” of foreign criminals eligible to face sanctions under the US Kingpin Act.

Naser Kelmendi was the focus of the Sept. 12 SIPA operation, codenamed “Doll,” during which his hotel, the Casa Grande in Ilidja, a suburb of Sarajevo, was raided, but Kelmendi himself was not arrested. After that raid, the Prosecutor’s office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, requested an international warrant for Naser Kelmendi.