Bosnia arms probe points to Sweden’s notorious ‘Kurdish Fox’ network

Foxtrot and its leader, Rawa Majid, known as the “Kurdish Fox”, have also attracted the attention of US and British authorities over alleged cooperation with Iran. Both Majid and the network were sanctioned by Washington and London in 2025.

Bosnia investigation points to Sweden

Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) searched four locations in Sarajevo, Doboj and Bratunac on September 23 as part of an investigation into suspected organised crime linked to illicit trafficking in weapons, military equipment and narcotics.

SIPA said officers seized nine hunting rifles, five pistols, around 190 rounds of ammunition and extensive documentation concerning weapons permits and the purchase and sale of firearms. Investigators suspect that some of the seized documents were forged and used in procedures for obtaining weapons permits.

A suspect suffered self-inflicted gunshot wounds later that day and subsequently died at the University Clinical Centre in Sarajevo, SIPA said. The agency’s official statement did not identify the suspect or mention Foxtrot.

RFE/RL, however, citing sources familiar with the investigation, reported that SIPA had been working with Europol and that one of the alleged arms supply chains led to Foxtrot.

According to RFE/RL, the deceased suspect was a police officer from Sarajevo Canton who worked on firearms permits in Ilijas. He was suspected of misusing permits issued to residents to purchase pistols from at least two companies in Bratunac and Doboj before diverting the weapons into illegal channels.

Information obtained by RFE/RL suggests that dozens of firearms were acquired through the scheme in 2024 and 2025. Sources also told the outlet that weapons illegally obtained in Bosnia were used in at least five armed incidents linked to Foxtrot. These claims have not been officially confirmed by Bosnian investigative authorities.

Who is the ‘Kurdish Fox’?

Rawa Majid was born in 1986 and holds Swedish and Iraqi citizenship, according to the UK sanctions list. RFE/RL reports that he was born into a Kurdish family in Iran and grew up in the Swedish city of Uppsala.

Known as the “Kurdish Fox”, Majid has been internationally wanted since 2020 over alleged involvement in major drug offences and the planning of murders, according to RFE/RL.

The US Treasury describes Foxtrot as one of Sweden’s most notorious criminal gangs and one of the region’s most prominent drug-trafficking organisations. US authorities say the network has carried out shootings, contract killings and assaults, trafficked arms and routinely used teenagers to carry out attacks.

Majid is a fugitive and is the subject of numerous Swedish charges related to narcotics and firearms trafficking, according to the US Treasury.

From Sweden’s underworld to Iran

The case has a wider international dimension because of Foxtrot’s alleged relationship with Iran.

In March 2025, the US Treasury sanctioned Majid and Foxtrot, saying the network had orchestrated an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm in January 2024 on behalf of the Iranian government.

Washington also said Majid had specifically cooperated with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The Treasury says Tehran has increasingly used criminal networks as proxies for operations abroad, helping it maintain plausible deniability.

The United Kingdom followed in April 2025, imposing sanctions on Majid and Foxtrot over what it described as their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of Iran.

“The Iranian regime uses criminal gangs across the world to threaten people,” then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy said when announcing the sanctions.

No confirmed link between Bosnian weapons and Iranian operations

Sources cited by RFE/RL say weapons illegally obtained in Bosnia were used in at least five incidents linked to Foxtrot. US and British authorities, separately, have linked Foxtrot to operations carried out on behalf of Iran.

There is, however, no official confirmation that weapons originating from Bosnia were used in any of Foxtrot’s alleged Iran-linked operations.

RFE/RL also reported that Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, citing police sources in January 2025, identified Majid’s network of contacts for smuggling weapons from Bosnia to Sweden as one of the advantages that helped him operate in Sweden’s criminal underworld.