The murder of Swedish citizen Haris Osterdahl has reopened the old question of whether Bosnia and Herzegovina is consolidating its role as an indispensable route for drug trafficking.
Haris Osterdal was killed in the Stup settlement, and Elvir Mutić was also wounded on that occasion. In the middle of the day, with a silencer, as reported by the media, and with a bag in which the shells fell, on a bicycle with drippers and masks on their faces – this is the way to say that these are professionals in their job of hired killers. Suspects of murder were quickly arrested in Sokolac and Pale. This says, emphasizes BiH Security Minister Nenad Nešić, that the security agencies cooperate well.
This is the continuation of the ruthless crackdown on the Swedish drug market that has been going on for years.
In September alone, 12 people were killed in clashes, where on one side was the Foxtrot clan, to which Osterdal was close. Rava Majid, the main man of Foxtrot, better known in the world of cryptocommunications as the Kurdish Fox, lives in Turkey, which granted him citizenship and, in accordance with its laws, rejected Sweden’s extradition request. Among other things, Osterdahl was also shot in Turkey. After he was released from custody, he came to Sarajevo from Turkey. What does that say about routes?
“Trade, not only in narcotic drugs but also in people, goes through BiH. It’s just a matter of intensity,” says Armin Kržalić, professor at the Faculty of Criminology, Criminology and Security Studies.
Turkey is the dominant supplier of heroin to Europe. Morphine, as the main component of heroin, arrives from Iran and Afghanistan. The chemical substance needed to make heroin from opium comes from the Czech Republic, Russia and Germany, and that’s how Turkey makes heroin, according to the Transnational Octopus report, a publication of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. It is then sent via Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. And so the Balkan route becomes the most famous for the flow of heroin. The most important thing is that heroin doubles its price in our region.
Money earned through drug transition represents illegal financial flows. One of the ways to launder money is the construction of real estate, given that this sector is significant in terms of economic share, and is poorly regulated, the report states. The director of the Office for the fight against corruption spoke about the connection between construction investors and political office holders in several speeches this year.
“Some information indicates that the construction mafia in Bosnia and Herzegovina is operating and using exactly those mechanisms to launder money,” Professor Kržalić points out.
Judging by the seizures of cocaine, we are not spared the route for banana shipments with cocaine. Bosnian Edin Gačanin, who heads the Tito and Dino cartel, has been identified by the DEA as one of the biggest cocaine traffickers, founding a supercartel and controlling about one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe. He lives in Dubai, and maintains his connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina by laundering money.
“We should not forget that these criminal groups have more resources than the budgets of the countries of the Western Balkans,” notes Professor Kržalić.
In 2020, the UNODC estimated that 60-65 tons of heroin pass through Southeastern Europe annually, worth around one billion euros. Judging by the seizures, it could be concluded that members of criminal groups from the countries of the Western Balkans are successful and that makes them indispensable partners, Federalna reports.
