R Isk B U Lletin

ISSUE 6 | MARCH–APRIL 2021 OBSERVATORY OF ILLICIT ECONOMIES IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS 1. A trafficking hub in the middle of nowhere. Balkans. Roma children constitute a particularly Ever heard of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje? This vulnerable group. Drawing on information inconspicuous town in central Bosnia and from a forthcoming GI-TOC report, we look at Herzegovina is home to a trucking company why Roma children are so susceptible and how called Sičaja. In January 2021, the head of the problem manifests itself, both within the the company, a well-known and politically Western Balkans and in other parts of Europe. connected businessman, was arrested for possessing 400 kilograms of cannabis. The 4. The ‘hawks’ of Kurbin: a school of thieves. town has become a drug trafficking hotspot, In recent years, break-ins and thefts at the which shows the significance of logistics hubs homes of football players and celebrities have in supply chains and links between the licit made the headlines in Spain and Italy. Many and illicit economies, as well as connections of the perpetrators are young men who come between business, political and criminal elites. from the region of Kurbin, in Albania. We look at why this area is producing and exporting so 2. A crackdown on organized crime in the many burglars. Western Balkans? In a series of arrests in January and February 5. Youth as the engine of the community: an 2021, police in Serbia, Montenegro, North interview with Sebastia Youth Centre. Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina took The municipality of Kurbin, centred around down criminals that media allege have links to the town of Lac, has developed a reputation in the notorious Kavač and Škaljari criminal clans Albania and abroad for being a finishing school from Montenegro. Moreover, Serbia’s president for burglary. This region faces socio-economic has promised to crack down on organized hardships, with limited licit career options crime. A few important figures have been for youth and few civil society organizations arrested, but some elements of the media and (CSOs). To address this problem, a young the police have also been caught up in recent lawyer and a local teacher teamed up to developments. establish the Sebastia Youth Center, a CSO that aims to counter stereotypes and give 3. The vulnerability of Roma children to youth a platform for a better life. We talk to commercial sexual exploitation. the founders and leaders, Emarilda Leti and Commercial sexual exploitation of children Elton Laska. RISK BULLETIN is a serious concern across the Western ABOUT THIS ISSUE Welcome to the sixth issue of the Risk Bulletin exploitation of Roma children who are particularly produced by the Observatory of Illicit Economies in vulnerable to CSEC. South Eastern Europe of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). Albanian burglars, known as the ‘hawks’, have become notorious over the past few years for conducting We start off, as always, with a profile of a hotspot of break-ins and thefts at the homes of the rich and organized crime in the region, this time the little-known famous, particularly football players and celebrities in town of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje in Bosnia and Spain and Italy. Many of the ‘hawks’ are from one small, Herzegovina. This logistics hub became a focal point poor region of Albania named Kurbin. We look at why with a recent drug bust of 400 kilograms of cannabis. this area is producing and exporting so many burglars and talk to two directors of a civil society organization There have also been several significant operations that works with youth in the area to make them less against organized crime in some countries of the vulnerable to a life of crime. Western Balkans, including Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to a Finally, we feature an overview of recent publications number of arrests, including the well-known leader of a related to organized crime and corruption in the football fan group in Serbia. The situation in Serbia has Western Balkans and showcase a number of new taken a few twists and turns, including a smear reports by the GI-TOC. We intend to publish such a list campaign against a group of investigative journalists by on an occasional basis and would welcome any some tabloids and politicians, which the GI-TOC has suggestions. condemned. Please let us know if you would like to contribute a story; The GI-TOC will soon release a groundbreaking report we offer authors an honorarium. If you have a proposal on the commercial sexual exploitation of children for a story or would like to provide feedback, please (CSEC) across the Western Balkans. In this issue, we contact [email protected]. feature one aspect of the problem, namely the 1. A trafficking hub in the middle of nowhere. Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje is a small town in Bosnia and In the past ten years, its central position has been used Herzegovina. The fact that it is a logistics hub, close to to build a criminal milieu in this small locality. It has major highways, makes it a strategically placed yet nevertheless operated largely below the radar. inconspicuous hotspot for trafficking. One of the few times that Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje The town, with a population of around 20 000 made the news was when one of its former inhabitants,1 is close to the city of Bugojno in the inhabitants, Vinko Žuljević Klica, was assassinated in central part of the country. It is therefore close to main May 2015 in Zagreb. Klica, a war veteran, was behind roads going north–south from Banja Luka to Mostar one of the most powerful security companies in and east–west from Sarajevo to Croatia.2 Like other Croatia and was allegedly a major player in Zagreb’s hotspots, the town suffers from socio-economic underground scene.4 vulnerability, including high unemployment (43.5 per cent in 2016) and a low average salary of €345 per But in January 2020, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje made month.3 The town is divided between Bosniaks and headlines when Ante Sičaja, the owner of an eponymous Croats, which has strengthened ethnically based local import–export company, was arrested with patronage networks but crippled public institutions. 400 kilograms of cannabis with an estimated value of RISK BULLETIN • ISSUE 6 • MAR–APR 2021 WESTERN BALKANS REGION 2 €2 million. Cannabis coming from Albania and trafficking routes. For example, in April 2020, Montenegro was allegedly transported by his company Macedonian police discovered 1.2 tonnes of cannabis from Capljina via Bileca and Mostar. The drugs were in a warehouse just outside of Skopje. In November repackaged in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje. A small portion 2020, Serbian police seized 628 kilograms of cannabis was kept for the domestic market, while the majority of from an abandoned hanger in Arandjelovac, 80 the cannabis was shipped west to Croatia and farther kilometres south of Belgrade. The drugs were being into the EU.5 Ostensibly, the political connections of packaged for further distribution in Western Europe. In the owner, who is said to be linked to the Croatian November 2019, Serbian police seized 77 kilograms of Democratic Union, along with the good reputation of heroin near the town of Mladenovac on the outskirts the company in the region, may have helped to of Belgrade. avoid suspicion. These examples show that when looking at the flow of It is possible that this counter-narcotics operation, drugs, it is misleading and simplistic to draw arrows on carried out by the State Investigation and Protection a map that show the trafficking of heroin from, for Agency, exposed a network that has been in operation example, Turkey via the Western Balkans to the EU, or for some time. Police reportedly seized a personal diary cannabis from Albania via Montenegro and Bosnia and kept by Mr Sičaja which connects the company’s illicit Herzegovina to Croatia and beyond as if they were activities with other criminal figures from the region, straight, uninterrupted journeys. The reality is that including in Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria.6 these shipments are usually made in a series of short trips, with the journey and often the load broken up in Furthermore, there are recent cases that point to the order to avoid obstacles and take advantage of fact that buyers were coming to Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje opportunities. to purchase drugs, which were said to be easier to obtain and relatively cheap.7 Seizures from towns in the Trafficking routes tend to follow the paths of least surrounding areas can usually trace the drugs back to resistance, where risk is lower because of political Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje.8 connections, corruption and concealment in a relatively safe form of transportation (in this case, a well-known There are rumours that the town is also a hub for trucking company). Indeed, the case of Gornji Vakuf- weapons smuggling. There have been cases in which Uskoplje shows the links between the licit and the illicit weapons have been confiscated from residents of the economy and the sometimes cozy relationship between municipality. Weapons have also been found on the business, political and criminal elites. premises of the Sičaja company.9 This case illustrates that hotspots for drugs may not just be major urban centres or socio-economically vulnerable towns, but also logistical hubs along key RISK BULLETIN • ISSUE 6 • MAR–APR 2021 WESTERN BALKANS REGION 3 Zagreb International boundary SERBIA E65 Entity boundary Country capital E70 Karlovac N Town/village 1 CROATIA E73 Main roads used for drug trafficking E70 Different drug trafficking routes from Gornji Vakuf–Uskoplje Different drug trafficking routes to Gornji Vakuf–Uskoplje E661 Bihac Banja Luka REPU SRPSKA BOSNIA AND E761 E661 HERZEGOVINA Kljuc Mrkonjic Grad Jajce FEDERA BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA E661 Novi Travnik Donji Vakuf E661 M16 M16.4 Bugojno A1 Kupres M16.2 REPU SRPSKA CROATIA Livno M16 Uskoplje Prozor M16.2 Sarajevo M16 M15 Tomislavgrad Jablanica 220 M6.1 E65 Imotski Posusje E73 Split 60 Drugs towards EU M6 Mostar Makarska Ljubuski E73 M17.3 M6 Capljina Stolac R427 M6 M20 MONTENEGRO Adriatic Bileca Sea R431 Niksic Trebinje M6 E762 FIGURE 1 Drug trafficking routes through Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje.

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