Sweeden on Balkan Route

Published by: Kris Babic Olssen http://www.sinteza.org/balkan_roure.htm

When nearly a year and a half ago in the Stockholm suburb of Solna, four Montenegrin citizens were detained for smuggling 42.5 kilograms of cocaine that had been floated by cruise ship MSC 'Opera' from Rio de Janeiro, it was the largest seizure of cocaine in Sweden's history. After several days of investigation, it was found that the drugs in Sweden has been infiltrated by members of so-called Montenegrin clan, as the Swedish journalists, tended to comic simplifications, called standard channel that for decades has been the Balkan drug route, arriving in Sweden. Otherwise, the shipping company which brought the drug to Sweden - MSC Cruises, employs 12 000 workers worldwide, is present in 45 countries and transports 1.2 million passengers annually by their ships. A few months later, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mersudin Mesanovic was deprived of liberty, when they found 70 kilograms of heroin intended, according to the results of the investigation, to the Swedish market. Scandinavian market was intended for the largest portion of the 100 pounds of the drug, which was seized by local police in June of this year in Podujevo near Kosovo, in an action in which they detained four men. On the Swedish market was also to end the majority of 17 kilograms of drugs seized by Italian police during the arrest of 54 members of the Balkan gangs headed by Serbs in June this year. At the recent trial of Rami Brkic, Police Commissioner of Una-Sana Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not only information about the drug transport by the enterprising cop to Sweden have emerged to the surface, but also the murders that his staff carried out in Sweden. Smaller amounts of seized drugs coming to Sweden by Balkan channels are no longer counted. Total quantity of seized drugs is negligible compared to the part which successfully ends in the hands of street dealers. According to recently published estimates of the Russian Federal Service for Drug traffic control, at least 150 to 200 tons of heroin pass by Balkan Route yearly, and the number of yellow tons increases from year to year. In last year's report of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was estimated that at any

moment on the Balkan market circulates between 800 and 900 tons of heroin of hundred percent purity, which means they can make four out of one kilograms, and that these goods continue to be flawless to market of any European city: a kilogram in the Balkan, which, when purchased on the wholesale costs 15, 20 000 euros, can achieve ten, fifteen times higher price in Sweden. On the other hand, one kilogram of pressed heroin has dimension of two connected DVD boxes, so it's not hard to imagine how it can be relatively easy to smuggle and earn on it. Therefore it is not surprising that much of this ends up on the north-European market for one simple reason: it is higher standard there and drug is more expensive, thereby highesest profit is generated there. Number of confidantes, relationships and business associates in Sweden, which a former Balkan narco-boss Darko Saric, Dragan Dudi, Luka Bojovic, and current - Kelmendi, clan Osmani and others have in Sweden are witnessed by many police sources. However, a deprivation of liberty of the bosses and even entire arms of widespread drug-octopus, does not mean the end or interruption of their work. Thus, for example, a few days ago was revealed that the arrested drug boss Zeljko Radovanovic from prison in Foca (Bosnia and Herzegovina), successfully led a well-established dealer jobs across Europe. People who possibly end up in jail for carrying the drugs across the border, are only the bottom of sophisticated food-drug chain, so their closure and seizure of small quantities of narcotics do not inflict any serious damage to criminal organizations. The risk of seizures is accrued to the final price of the drug from the beginning. Precise analysts have calculated that the only 90-percent detection of all transport drugs in the world, would have made that job relatively unprofitable. In land transport only somewhat serious obstacle is the Schengen border, when drug successfully enters the European market, its future path, to the north, south or west, is determined solely by the logic of maximizing profits: the west is currently better than the south, but worse than the north. Image of Swedes regarding Balkan drug traffickers, which is a result of media reports and popular TV series such as Inspector Valandera, is usually wrong. At the top of drug organizations are not uneducated criminals who are hiding in suburban warehouses but invisible people from the governing structure states which emerged from the ruins of the former Yugoslavia. At least three current heads of state and government, 7, 8 former presidents, a number of generals, leading police officers and even entire intelligence with European southeast are involved in the narcotics business. Those at the top are often people who go into the diplomatic visits to other countries, enjoy international status of elite politicians, attend sessions of the UN, and who, after all, on arrival in Sweden are welcomed by plant of honor platoon of soldiers. Those who are usually called Balkan drug bosses by media are just soundly established middle class hierarchically structured organization headed by invisible politicians , below 100-kilos, followed by 10-kilos and at the bottom are kilos (division according to the quantity or drugs that is proportional to power that they manage), and everything below that falls into consumer goods, spare change. In the largest seizure of narcotics in the Balkans during the past two decades, high politics have been soaked up to the neck: at the fall of Milosevic's regime in Serbia, half a ton of heroin intended for the Western market were seized in the vault of the local intelligence service, the top of the intelligence services of Serbia and Montenegro was closely associated with drug trafficking for years, at the highest cocaine seizure in Croatia (about half a ton), a network led by a Croatian army general who has come from the French Foreign Legion has been uncovered , the networks in Bosnia and Herzegovina are managed by several active generals and prominent politicians, narco-mafia according to U.S. intelligence sources in the Balkans, has some very influential media, former prime minister of Kosovo was brought in connection with a drog milieu, just like the former Prime Minister of Macedonia, and a number of generals and ministers, former president of Montenegro, the minister of the Interior, the highest number of police and intelligence officials , a number of Ministers and parliamentarians in Albania. It is equally difficult to speak of a gangs, especially in the traditional western conception of the term. We are dealing with militarily organized groups of several hundred people, which, depending on the needs may increase, decrease, share, connect, when due to dispersion, one part of the organization does not know anything about the second part, of which a substantial part , especially the one on the control positions, is well trained to participate in covert operations, with war experience, precisely organized logistics and communications system, including a fair number of young and educated people. One of the frequent misconception in the West is thinking of them as so-called national mafia, which bring members of one nation from one of the part of former Yugoslavia together. Neither one of the more serious groups from Southeast European area, dealing with large affairs with drugs and gathered with somewhat respectable power, more than 100 people, the last 10, 15 years has not been one national with perfectly logical reasons one national system would bring them in inferior market position in relation to the competitive group, because it would limit their access to foreign markets. In other words, terms such as Montenegrin mafia,

Kosovo, Croatian, Albanian or Serbian mafia create the wrong image from start and usually lead to wrong conclusions. How does the classic Balkan drug boss operates, can be best seen in the example of one of the most popular - Naser Kelmendi (54). This extremely intelligent Albanian, perfect organizer and careful businessman, was born in Pec in Kosovo. He currently lives in Sarajevo, and frequently visits Montenegro and Serbia. Kelmendi holds citizenship of all the countries of former Yugoslavia except Slovenia, and few weeks ago was found on the black list of the U.S. State Department as a person who represents a threat to the national security of the United States, which significantly increased his rating in crime circles in the former state. In addition to drug trafficking, Kelmendi is making significant profits in smuggling weapons, petroleum products, cigarettes, murders, extortions, human trafficking, money laundering and usury. Part of illegally obtained money was laundered, and with that money he legally bought up several hotels, a dozen houses and apartments, and owns about 30 companies strategically located in all the states of the former Yugoslavia and Europe. Aware that at any moment his property can be seized and his accounts frozen, he holds most of the money in an unknown location. In the cities that he visits, Kelmendi lives a life of classic celebrity: enjoying the attention of the public, likes to show off his expensive cars, giving interviews to the local media, appearances in TV shows, gets intimate with models, singers, beauties, and other celebrities also enjoy his company. Members and associates of his organization are registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, but also in the United Arab Emirates. According to the organizational structure, the foundation is mostly composed by the members of Kelmendi family in Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo, certainly the most important his sons, and have established a strong cooperation with members of different criminal groups of other nationalities : Bosnians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, Macedonians , Slovenes, Hungarians, Germans, Italians, Swedes, Arabs, Turks, etc. In research,besides Kelmendi family, as particularly close associates are mentioned people like Fahrudin Radoncic, the owner of the publishing house and the Bosnian highest circulation dailies - Avaz, Bosnian generals Naser Oric and Nihad Bojadzic, Kosovar businessman Ekrem Luka, former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj suspected for war crimes at the Hague tribunal, who has a good chance to become the next Prime Minister of Kosovo, then Montenegro's bosses Rok Stanaj and Safet Kalic Sajo. Kelmendi has significantly financially helped in independence of Montenegro, and belongs to the small circle of controversial businessman from the region who , according to the Montenegrin media coverage, have constant access to the former president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic and his family. In addition, in his organization he has gathered a number of operatives and managerial employees of the intelligence services of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former soldiers, computer scientists, and offered a job to a number of former communist officials who have lost their jobs during past 20 transition years. In cooperation with the Belgrade mobsters in Bosnia Kelmendi liquidated local competitor in the business of drug trafficking, the Bosnian General Ramiz Delalic Cele. When cleaning mobsters in Serbia once started, most of prominent found safe shelter at Kelmendi, who temporarily hid them in Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, provided them Croatian passports so they could freely travel the world. After the recent local services tried to uncover and deprive of liberty the arm of his organization in Bosnia, few hours before the start of the action Kelmendi has simply disappeared. Although Balkan media and intelligence agencies have been emphasizing Kelmendi as chief of the drug bosses for years, some details are rocking the simplified, cartoon picture of Balkan drug markets. Thus, for example, Kelmendi had to leave his hometown Pec in Kosovo with his whole organization, since his competitors drove him so he found temporary refuge in Sarajevo. They also expelled him from there and he temporarily moved to Montenegro, and he also lived in Serbia for some time and finally fought for his place under the sun in Bosnia. That can mean only one thing: that in that period in the same territory more organizations acted, more powerful than Kelmendi. Otherwise, he would have expelled them, not vice versa. On the other hand, although the activity of his clan is permanently engaged by a dozen western and more different local intelligence , although he ended up on the black list of the State Department, Kelmendi has no serious criminal record. Structurally, he is clean as a whistle, except for some youthful escapade he was never in serious jail, his organization of a few hundred people is practically untouched, and the drug is still flowing unimpeded in all directions: east, west, north and south . And that, in turn, can also mean only one thing.