37 members of a criminal group from the Western Balkans, led by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) citizen Dino Muzaferovic “Cezar”, were arrested in an international operation. The targeted criminal group was involved in drug and firearms smuggling and was rated as a “violent” and “powerful” criminal group. The action was coordinated in Zagreb, from where it was announced that this is just the beginning of breaking up criminal clans in the region.
That the fish stinks from the head shows the catch in this international operation because together with 37 others, the mastermind of this criminal group was also arrested. It is interesting that this is a BiH citizen, better known in the criminal milieu and police circles as “Cezar”. The real name of the “high-value target”, as described by EUROPOL itself, is Dino Muzaferovic, and he is from Velika Kladusa.
It is suspected that, at the beginning of 2022 and until the end of May of this year, “Cezar” organized a criminal association for the purpose of procurement and smuggling of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis, but he did not stop there, he also included in the scope of his activities the trade of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, thanks to which the group made millions in profit. Muzaferovic is currently serving a 4-year sentence in Italy, but his stay in a prison cell did not prevent him from successfully managing the criminal activities of his gang.
The Minister of the Internal Affairs of Croatia, Davor Bozinovic, says that the Croatian police is increasingly becoming a point of coordination and action in this part of Europe, and adds that this speaks of the trust that the Croatian police have.
It is suspected that, under the baton of Muzaferovic, drugs smuggled from the Netherlands, Belgium, Montenegro, and Turkey with the help of so-called “courier-smugglers” were brought to the territory of Croatia, Slovenia, and BiH. He also financed the purchase of cars and the creation of secret hiding places in cars where drugs and weapons were smuggled, as well as the rental of apartments and garages that served to achieve their criminal goals. But that’s not all.
The leader of the criminal group is on the wanted list of Interpol BiH, where in mid-2021 he is suspected as part of the “Escobar” operation for the organization of large cannabis plantations and its smuggling into European Union (EU) countries. Not long after the operation was launched, the BiH prosecution received a repentant witness, Eldin Cerimovic, who was ready to testify against Muzaferovic and others. However, in May, last year, he was killed in Velika Kladusa. Although no one is formally suspected of his murder, the investigating authorities link it, precisely, to Cezar. Searches were carried out in BiH a day earlier.
“Four people were arrested. Dozens of firearms of different calibers were confiscated, as well as hundreds of ammunition, other items, and evidence,” says Semin Kadic, from the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs of BiH.
However, detention measures were not proposed. Several persons were detained in BiH, detention measures were not proposed because everything was documented in detail. The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is coordinating all further activities with the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime of the Republic of Croatia and other foreign partners.
