Bosnia: 32 Indicted In Organized Crime Crackdown

Published: 28 August 2013

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Thirty-two individuals including three former police officers were indicted in Bosnia on Wednesday. The suspects are accused of multiple crimes including murder and armed robbery throughout the past decade reports Reuters.

Led by boss Darko Elez, suspects of Bosnian and Serbian nationality allegedly murdered five rival gang members and conducted robberies across Bosnia and neighboring countries. The targets of robberies included security vans and a post office which netted the group US$6.8 million.

The operation, codenamed Lutka, which was originally intended to target Kosovo born crime boss Naser Kelmendi, resulted in dozens of arrests in 2012 and several more over the following year. Kelmendi, who is wanted in connection with a 2007 murder, is currently in custody in Kosovo and remains wanted in Bosnia. Bosnia and Kosovo do not have a formal extradition agreement.

Prosecutors hailed the indictment as the most extensive since the Bosnian War concluded in 1995.