Balkans cocaine cartel busted after being detected on encrypted messaging app

Authorities carried out raids at 30 houses and 10 company buildings in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina last Tuesday, May 9, as part of an investigation into drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption in the Balkans.

During the searches, police discovered five luxury vehicles, four pistols with 300 pieces of ammunition, luxury goods including jewellery and watches, and cash in various currencies with a total value of approximately €100,000.

They also seized large sums of cryptocurrency, 247 crypto mining machines with a total value of more than €1 million, and approximately €150,000 stored in bank accounts.

Seven people were arrested in relation to the raids while two others were searched for with international arrest warrants.

The criminal network allegedly helped to send cocaine from South America to Europe by ships and private planes, usually hidden in coal or cans of tuna, according to Europol.

The Police Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Canton Sarajevo, State Prosecutors Office, and Canton Sarajevo Prosecutors Office collaborated with Europol to take down the cartel using information from Sky ECC – a subscription-based end-to-end encrypted messaging app made by Sky Global.

Europol used data from the now defunct messaging platform to identify the structure, activities, and international connections of the criminal gang, which brought forward the current investigation.

Europol further supported the national authorities with identification of High Value Targets, facilitation of information exchange, coordination of operational activities and operational analysis.

Meanwhile, authorities also targeted a political figure suspected of corruption, who was holding a position at the top of one of the municipalities in Canton Sarajevo.