According to the Ministry of the Interior of Republika Srpska (RS) entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the arrests were made during raids in Banja Luka, Bosanski Novi, Bijeljina, and Zvornik. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the police forces of Croatia and Slovenia and in coordination with Europol.

Based on an order issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, police searched 11 locations and seized several firearms, about €50,000 in cash, computers, documents, mobile phones as well as vehicles and boats used by traffickers.

According to unnamed police sources quoted by local media, about 40 kilos of marijuana, a thousand ecstasy tables and a small amount of cocaine were also found.

The investigation found that this criminal group had smuggled at least 1,400 people across the border with Croatia since 2020. The illegal migrants mostly came from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Eritrea and China, and were smuggled into Croatia either by boat across the River Una or in specially designed compartments in vehicles and then transported to Italy.

The police managed to decrypt the encrypted messaging application used by gang members in their communication.