Balkan Super Cartel Member Edin Gacanin Cuts 7-Year Sentence Deal for Cocaine Trafficking

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Kinahan/Super Cartel partner, Balkan mob boss Edin Gačanin, is reported to have cut a deal with Dutch prosecutors and has been sentenced to 7 years in prison there. The Bosnian native, described as one of the world’s most prolific drug dealers by US authorities, had been wanted for smuggling 2,400 kilos of cocaine, according to Dutch publication NCR.

He was also fined €1 million as part of his conviction details, which were in an anonymized judgment from a Rotterdam court last month. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service confirmed the conviction while his lawyers did not want to comment when contacted by NCR.

He had been arrested in November 2022 in Dubai after his extradition was requested by the Netherlands. However, he was released some months later when the bid failed with Dubai authorities claiming the Dutch hadn't presented extradition paperwork in time.

NCR reports secret discussions started between the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and Gačanin's lawyers. In the deal, he waived his right to full trial in return for a reduced sentence and the hearing went ahead on November 1, 2023. Gačanin appeared via remote link for the trial.

In March this year, Gačanin was described as "one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers” in an announcement by the US Treasury. He was the head of a Bosnian-Dutch gang, known as the "Tito and Dino" gang, who are involved in smuggling cocaine from South America into Europe.

In the statement at the time by the US authorities, they cited Gačanin’s ties to the Kinahan Organized Crime Group. Gačanin was one of the Super Cartel members at Daniel Kinahan’s wedding in 2017 at the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai along with Italian mob figure Raffaële Imperiale and Dutch-Maroc Mafia head Ridouan Taghi.

"Edin Gačanin (Gacanin) is one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers. A native of Sarajevo, Gačanin is the leader of the Tito and Dino Cartel, which includes his family members and his friends from BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

"In addition to narcotics trafficking efforts across multiple countries, Gacanin’s cartel is involved in money laundering and is closely linked to the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, a Transnational Criminal Organization previously designated by OFAC... for its role as a significant transnational criminal organization." The US OFAC Treasury stated this year.

His arrest in November last year was one of 49 in a multi-national police operation announced by Europol against the gang. But just two months after his arrest Gačanin was freed on bail despite attempts by the authorities in the Netherlands to have him extradited.

Dubai Extradition Requests

Christy Kinahan Sr. and his sons Daniel and Christy Jr., who have $5 million bounties on their heads from the US authorities, are still believed to be in Dubai.

Their trusted lieutenant Sean McGovern who is wanted on charges in Ireland is also in Dubai and yet to be extradited despite arrests for warrants issued by Ireland. Christy Kinahan Jr. is also wanted by authorities.

This week it emerged Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee expected to seek cabinet approval to begin formal extradition negotiations with the United Arab Emirates. There have been ongoing talks between Ireland and the UAE about extraditing the gang leaders back to Ireland, where they can be brought before the courts.

Camorra figure Rafaelle Imperiale arrested in Dubai in 2021.

Rafaelle Imperiale, who had been on the run for five years, was arrested in Dubai in August 2021 and was extradited to Italy in March 2022. Italy's extradition request was initially rejected but after the Italian Minister of Justice flew to Dubai to personally hand over a new extradition request it went ahead. Imperiale began cooperating with Italian authorities and recently gave up an artificial island in Dubai in hopes of reducing his sentence further.

In December 2019, Dutch ‘Maroc-Mafia’ boss Riduoan Taghi was arrested and extradited shortly afterward to the Netherlands where his trial for ordering murders is continuing. The "Bunker Trial" has been rife with controversies including the removal of his lawyer and ordering the death of a Dutch journalist.

Source Sunday World