Croatian police arrest 37 people in international operation
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 had a history of drug and firearms smuggling, and was rated as a violent and powerful criminal group. The action was announced 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 Cezar organized a criminal association for the purpose of purchasing and smuggling of cocaine, heroin, and cannabis at the beginning of 2022, but he did not stop there, as he included firearms, ammunition, and explosives in the scope of his activities, 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 his gang's criminal activities.
Davor Bozinovic, Minister of the Internal Affairs of Croatia, says that the Croatian police is becoming increasingly a point of coordination and action in this part of Europe and adds that this speaks of the trust that the Croatian police have.
Under the baton of Muzaferovic, drugs were smuggled from the Netherlands, Belgium, Montenegro, and Turkey under the help of so-called courier-smugglers to Croatia, Slovenia, and BiH. He also funded the purchase of cars and the creation of hidden hiding places in cars where drugs and weapons were smuggled, and the rental of apartments and garages that served to achieve their criminal objectives. He is on the Interpol BiH wanted list, where he is believed to be part of the Escobar operation for the organisation of large cannabis plantations and its smuggling into European Union EU countries. As soon as the operation was launched, the BiH prosecution received a repentant witness, Eldin Cerimovic, who was ready to testify against Muzaferovic and others. He was killed in Velika Kladusa in May last year. Although no one is formally suspected of his murder, the investigating authorities link it, exactly, to Cezar. Searches have been carried out in BiH in the past a day.
Four people were arrested. Dozens of firearms of different calibers were confiscated, he said, as well as hundreds of ammunition, other items, and evidence.
Detention measures were not proposed, but were not proposed. Several people were detained in BiH, detention measures were not proposed because everything was recorded 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, N 1 reported.