Balkan Unscripted #5 - Smugglers, a Bosnian Bear and Floods
Dispatch - Dutch holiday parks, Cocaine and Serbian swearwords
Hello everyone!
A few months ago, I found myself walking through the quiet lanes of a bungalow park in the south of the Netherlands. Leave covered lanes with small white houses with birdfeeders and an elderly couple walking their dogs. Why the hell was I here?
Well, a source suggested that criminals from the Kavač-clan, a violent organized crime group with roots in Montenegro, may be hiding in such a park in Brabant. There, the source claimed, these groups would hide their drivers, drugs and illicit profit from a profitable cocaine route spanning from South America to Belgrade.
Criminal networks from the Western Balkan have recently transitioned from regional actors to key players in the global cocaine trade. Their influence now had extended beyond Europe, reaching markets in North America, Australia, and Africa. Our ports in the Netherlands are popular with cocaine traffickers from the Balkans.
Funded by Journalismfund Europe, with two colleagues (Mark Middel from NRC en Nemanja Rujevic from Vreme), I worked on an investigation mapping the connections between Dutch and Serbian criminal groups. Not the easiest task.
Serbian authorities are surely not too keen to speak with investigative journalists. And their Dutch counterparts, albeit a bit more transparent, are also not so keen on sharing insights about their investigations. So, fieldwork and court documentation it is. A source passed thousands of pages of messages from SKY ECC, an encrypted communication platform hacked by Belgium, Dutch and French police in 2019.
So, then you find yourself stuck into pages and pages of conversation of criminals, in Serbian, often in slang and laced with swearwords (I learned a word or two). (Also, what is up with thugs texting hearts and smilies?). The results of our investigation were published in De Morgen, NRC (also listen to the story here) and Vreme.
Oh and my exploration on the holiday park in Brabant – besides a nice conversation with the elderly couple, a great patat met mayo, and a wild story about a poor chicken farmer murdered by drugscriminals — that lead proved to be unfruitful.
Kasnije brate,
Ingrid (plus reporting buddy of the day)
Ps. Do read the recently published and excellent report “Cocaine connections: Links between the Western Balkans and South America” authored by Fatjona Mejdini at the Global Initiative against Transorganised Crime! Also watch the webinar here.
What you need to know
Armed Afghan gang terrorizing migrants crossing Bosnia. An armed Afghan gang known as BWK has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, kidnapping asylum seekers and demanding ransoms from their families. Their tactics include physical abuse, psychological torture, and, in some cases, sexual assault, with ransom demands reaching up to 6,000 euros, paid in Turkey, writes Balkan Insight.
The smugglers’ tactics have changed to adapt to a tightening of the EU’s external frontier. With fewer ‘customers’, the smugglers have embraced more violence, adding theft, kidnapping and extortion to their portfolio and preying in particular on victims of ‘pushbacks’ by border police. Some excellent on the ground reporting from Sara Dragojlo and Tommi Siviero for Balkan Insight. Many congratulations!
Serbian students from Novi Sad are cycling to Strasburg. With this ride, students want to raise awareness among European officials about recent political developments in Serbia. The students plan to submit letters to the Council of Europe and European Parliament. They plan to cover up to 150 kilometers per day.
Dodik was in Russia, and then back home again. Whilst the international community was debating on whether or not Milorad Dodik should be issued an Interpol issued international arrest warrant, the president of RS visited Russia. He met with Putin, and proudly broadcasted that on his Instagram account. Amidst fears that he would seek refuge in Moscow, in a later Instagram post, Dodik (somewhat humourisly, perhaps) wrote, when back in Banja Luka, “I have arrived”.
Also lost on what is happening in Bosnia at the moment? Listen to Marjolein explain what is going on in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the moment on BNR’s Perestrjokast.
Heavy rainfall affected central and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the northeast part of Croatia. The situation as of March 30 was critical in Prijedor, where a state of emergency was declared. The Sana River overflowed, also reaching critical points in the towns of Raskovac, Puharska, Gomjenica and Tukovi.
In other news
Blagojevick has a new gig, working for the Bosnian bear. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, pardoned by President Donald Trump, has been hired to lobby for the Republic of Srpska, a Serb-majority territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His firm, RRB Strategies, will provide communications and public affairs support, aiming to revisit the Dayton Agreement to reflect current realities, reports Politico.
A beautiful ancient wedding ceremony in Bulgaria persists. The Pomaks, a Muslim minority in Bulgaria, uphold centuries-old wedding traditions. DW’s correspondent followed a couple throughout their two-day wedding celebration
Russians in Serbia. Tens of thousands of young Russians have moved to Serbia since the invasion of Ukraine, as the country maintains good relations with Putin's Russia. The Russian community in Belgrade lives in its own bubble, where politics is a taboo subject. "This is Russia, but outside of Russia." Read Rosa van Gool’s article.
Meme of the week (well a video this week)
How do you become 104? Well – rakija? This Rakija company from Central Serbia made this advertisement, which, honestly, made us both laugh quite a bit!
Speaking about alcohol. The month of Ramazan just ended and this picture below from Bosnia made it’s yearly comeback.
Tips
Watch our film (made by Ingrid Gercama, Vanja Stokic, Ajdin Kamber and Gianluca Livu) on illegal poaching of quails on the Balkans by Italian hunters here. The film was also presented by Vanja and screened by N1 in Bosnia last week.
Your favorite hosts from Balkan Unscripted are (almost) always travelling and lack having pictures together. So here’s a nice screenshot of us being digitally together <3. Marjolein says hi from Bosnia and will share a story from Višegrad with you next time. Cao!
