CEE Crime, Spy and Somewhat Appalling Politics Roundup (May 18, 2026): Drug Busts and Bad Cops... and Serbia

Drugs, mafia, murder and disappeared bodies.

That’s right--over the past few weeks, Central and Southeastern Europe has rippled and roiled with crime, with this including (only days ago) the bust of a top cop in the Balkans.

And then there is the war in Ukraine, corruption scandals be damned.

But for now—or at least until the Ukrainian Andriy Yermak scandal shakes out—we’re going to focus on CEE/SEE crime and otherwise stick to the point (or to the points).

Bullet points, to be exact…

Or, in other words, the most titillating low points that over the past weeks have caught my eye.

Which means we’ll first begin with narcotics.

Now when it comes to cocaine and meth arrests, Yours Truly was tempted to post a long list of drug busts, as literally an endless string of arrests, ranging from Spain to The Netherlands to the Vysehrad countries of Central Europe, is beyond indicative. Tempted... but the truth of the matter is that there have in fact been so many this time the forest would be lost for the trees.

So let’s focus on a few individual trees, and stick with me here, as there is much to digest.

Case No. 1:

This one is long running and has actually been covered by The Corners for years, but in mid-April the absolutely infamous Daniel Kinahan was finally arrested and is now awaiting extradition in Dubai. To Ireland. If you would like to read the full background of the Kinahan crime group (and many others), check out the first (albeit sadly discontinued) The Corners edition, which can be downloaded on this site). But here are the Cliff Notes:

• Allegedly, Daniel Kinahan, born in Dublin, took after his father, Christy Kinahan, building what would become known as the Kinahan Cartel, which in the beginning focused on trafficking drugs and arms to Ireland. He was pinpointed by the US as early as 2009, designated a narco-terrorist, but despite early arrests was never permanently incarcerated.
• Ireland was hardly enough, by the mid-2010s he cartel controlled at least a third of all of the cocaine coming into The Netherlands. Dutch authorities and the US DEA went to work—and Kinahan made the mistake of inviting his alleged partners in crime to a wedding in Dubai… which the DEA got on tape. Guests included Raffaele Imperiale (a key player in Camorra), Ridouan Tagh (and incredibly violent dealer in Amsterdam, implicated in multiple murders and the killing of Dutch investigative journalist Peter De Vries) and Edin Gacacin, one half of the leadership of the infamous Bosnian Tito and Dino crime gang.
• Meanwhile, Kinahan’s gang had also gone to war with the Hutch gang (some may remember the depiction of Gerry Hutch in the film Veronica Guerin), resulting in killings on both sides and the partial destruction of the Hutch Gang itself. And yes, there were still ties to Central Europe--or specifically to the Balkans and Russia--in the form of Estonian assassin Imre “the Butcher” Arakas, a crime legend and later accused Kinahan-hired hitman who allegedly in the past killed “dozens” of Russian mafia members, and who is currently sought for extradition from Ireland by Lithuanian police for murder—and who also faces murder charges in Estonia and Spain. (That said, Arakas ws a mere footnote in this story, as allegedly the Kinahans used in the past enforcers such as Trevor Byrne (currently serving time for robbery, but suspected in the murder of Eddie Hutch); Lee Canavan (convicted of the 2016 murder of David Douglas); the volatile Leon G.; the now dead “debt collector” Gerard “Hatchet” Kavanagh; Kavanagh’s bother, Thomas (currently serving a 21-year prison sentence and linked to seven murders); Freddie Thompson (also serving time for the murder of David Douglas) and Gerard Mackin, who was convicted for nailing a man to a kitchen floor. With a nail gun.
• Yet a combination of aggressive prosecution, encryption breakthroughs and the arrests of henchmen (who also happened to be entrenched in boxing gyms from the UK to Spain) resulted in Kinahan bottled up for years in Dubai. This concurred with increased encroachment on the cocaine markets by Albanian and Balkan mobs. Now—if successfully extradited, and this is no sure thing, considering that Edin Gacacin was also once arrested in Dubai, but “accidentally” freed--Kinahan likely faces 30 years or more in prison for a wide array of charges, including racketeering.

The verdict: While this is a big win for police on various continents, the entire saga illustrates the extremely slow grind of law enforcement in such cases—while the carnage continues at every turn. Noteworthy is that even when Gacacin was incarcerated, Tito and Dino also continued trafficking and laundering money through a wide array of shell companies. But most importantly, has the collapse of the Kinahan Cartel slowed the flow of cocaine to Europe or even to Dutch ports.

Nope. Other crime groups (who are arguably far more vicious) stepped in to fill the gaps in real time. It is what it is.

Meth in Poland…

The case:

In late April/early May the press erupted with news that South American cartels had sent “cooks” to Poland with the implications that 1) methamphetamines were just beginning to be a problem in Poland and CEE and 2) that said cartels were taking over meth in Poland and the region.

Ok, let’s take a step back here. Anyone who has followed The Corners has noted that Yours Truly has been highlighting meth-lab busts here also for YEARS. And, hate to break it to you, but in fact this is almost all (in the world of narco-production anyway)…

Old news.

Mexican cooks were busted at least as far back as 2024—and again others were detained in 2025

The most recent news came to light in late April with TVP World noting that four Mexican nationals were detained in Orla in Poland, and with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBSP) noting that all had come to Poland with meth production in mind. Let’s not say this was not a big raid, as more than 600 liters of meth and precursors were seized, but hey… this was two years ago.

So let’s focus on the now. Only a few days ago (May 13), the CBSP shut down a meth lab in the Lubuskie Province, seizing materials worth more than PLN 3.5 mln.

As noted by the CBSP, “significant quantities of drugs were seized at the scene, including over 50 kilograms of clophedrone and over 150 kilograms of other narcotic and psychotropic substances. […] The group may have been operating since December 2025.”

In fact, this was only one of at least four such successful raids this year, including:

• The CBSP seized PLN 28 mln in drugs in a March 2 raid in the Srem district of Poland. Two suspects were detained.
• The CBSP seized more than 1,200 kilograms of clophedrone and other materials in late February of this year.
• In January CBSP officers seized more than “half a tonne” of clophedrone in a raid in lower Silesia.

And these raids are not counting meth seizures unrelated to the direct closing of meth labs (or international busts where meth was trafficked alongside cocaine). Or meth-related violence, including a very public beheading last year.

The verdict: Unfortunately, meth production in Poland is not a new thing. And the arrests of a few Mexican cooks, while great for headlines, is hardly going to fix or even impact the problem. Good catch though.

Gangsters on the move…

There is a theory espoused in undergraduate international relations courses that states (generally) that war or conflict next door means all kinds of trouble at home. This ranges from the very real risk of getting dragged into war to the realignment of organized crime to “peaceful” countries, as hey, crime needs stability to sell narcotics, launder money and generally keep the business running.

There was also the theory (espoused by Yours Truly) that crackdowns in Russia and the ‘Stans’ would mean that crime groups based the former Soviet Union would continue to move west. This was largely proved correct during the 2010s.

Now a new theory has appeared, this being that the war in Ukraine will result in Russia releasing/redirecting its worst hardened soldiers and criminals to the West… maybe just for the spite of it.

Hmmm. To be honest, this latest theory is a bit ahead of the game, as the war in Ukraine is very much ongoing, and despite my prediction that Russia could crack on a time line that would rough match that of the First World War (and despite the fact that Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov did recently warn the State Duma that unless urgent economic and financial reforms are implemented, mounting domestic pressures could trigger a 1917-style revolution—without giving credit to Yours Truly, as I did make this prediction first)…

And despite the fact that Ukraine is punishing Russia with long-range strikes and making small gains on the ground…

And despite the rumours that Russian President Vladimir Putin is spending time hiding in bunkers and gradually losing control over his country…

And the very woeful Victory Parade…

That war is still ongoing, and he Russian military is actually not big on releasing hardened, tough-guy types from service to randomly head west.

That said, a successful arrest by the Polish CBSP (in April, but only now announced) did raise eyebrows (at least among crime degenerates such as myself) as once again a Russian vor-v-zakone (thief-in-law) was detained in Poland.

The case:

In late April CBSP officers arrested Vladimir D., a vor-v-zakone “crowned” way back in 1982 in the Warsaw area. Vladimir D. allegedly “supervised the activities of a subordinate criminal group, including the organization and execution of planned crimes, as well as the distribution of funds derived from criminal activities.

Vladimir D. was previously subject to an Interpol notice that warned law enforcement agencies of member states about an individual who may pose a threat to public security in the country of residence.

Interesting is that Vladimir D. is no spring chicken. He is said to be 79-year-old, still under investigation and likely soon subject to deportation.

The verdict:

Scary stories of grizzled Russian veterans being sent west are a bit misleading. In fact, not only are most of those guys getting killed or maimed, due to the meatgrinder tactics of the Russian brass in Ukraine, but where they are surfacing to cause trouble is actually…. right back home in Russia where violence on the part of veterans with PTSD is hardly a secret.

The truth still seems to be that the vory fled west prior to the war or immediately after the war began (hey, these guys do typically have good instincts). Likewise, Putin had effectively turned on other Russian non-vory groups in the years up to the “special military operation,” and while groups such as Solntsevskaya still exist, Balkan gangs, including Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins and the like, often backed by the Italian mafia, have pushed many of the Russian players out.

Not that these guys are not a problem—they are—but let’s wait until the war is over before we push the next wave of fear, please.

Finally, yeah, Serbia again…

Fresh off the press, Veselin M., Belgrade Police Chief, was arrested Friday May 15 for allegedly concealing a murder and… helping to get rid of the body.

The case:

For long-time followers of crime in the Balkans this might just generate… a shrug. But a deeper dive reveals that:

• Veselin M. allegedly organized a meeting between two competing crime groups on May 12 in a local restaurant.
• As crime groups are wont, they refused to get along and started shooting, with Aleksandar Nesovic of the New Belgrade organization getting the worst of it.
• So what does a police chief turned crime gang arbitration official do?

He dumps the body (together with at least one of his security detail).

But not very well, as traces of blood were found… and so has been the body.

Now the true Balkan observers will have noted the following:

• Such mediation efforts are nothing new in Serbia.
• Veselin M. actually once worked as “security advisor” to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
• All of this rings strangely familiar.

The last point here is key. As the reality is that gangs in Serbia have been meeting with (and sometimes threatening) not only the police but the powers that be for quite a long time.

If you want detail, go to the second edition of the (yes, I’ll say it again) ill-fated The Corners hard-copy magazine that is still available on this site. But if you are up for the Cliff notes only, here you go:

• Possibly most notorious mafia vs. the government was the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Dindic by the Zemun Clan in March 2003. This is old history, and it kind of does not fit story above… but then again it does, as you will see below.
• Enter Veljko Belivuk the head of the infamous Principi, who may have started as a mere hooligan, but who appears to have had dreams or recreating a new Zemun-style mafia and taking over Serbia. At any rate, he soon teamed up with the Montenegrin Kavac mob, which was involved in a full-on regional war against the Skaljari Clan (which happened to be from the other side of the very same island in Montenegro, but I digress). Belivuk and company had no issue with murder, dismemberment or even the use of meat grinders when carrying out assassinations. And yes, there were alleged connections to the state, with Belivuk testifying that his group was used by… the government to stomp out (literally) protests and anti-government rallies (including allegedly, when locals turned out to see the midnight demolition of key properties to pave way for—allegedly—Vucic backed foreign developers). Likewise, the press tied him (allegedly) to Danilo Vucic, the president’s son, but also it is allegedly tied to the former Ministry of Interior official, Dijana H. was accused of having worked with the Principi to enable the war against the Skaljaris—and this was at a time that she was supposedly heading a special anti-mafia crime team for the ministry itself. And this was no passing thing. By 2022 Dijana H. was a fixture in Serbian crime news, as she was not only also questioned in the aforementioned wire-tapping scandal, but who was also prosecuted for influence peddling—i.e. taking cash for blocking investigations, protecting a crime group, etc. (allegedly the Kavac group), which means she was also facing five years in prison.

And yet there is more. For she was arrested Oct. 15, 2021 on suspicion of being an accessory to the murder of a certain Vlastimir Milosevic. (back in 2017)—as well as being noted during the investigations of the murders of Dragoslav Miloradovic, Vladimir Popovic and Dragoslav Ognjanovic--all lawyers on the bad side of... yes, Belivuk.

And to top it all off, she supposedly also used the now infamous (and non-secure) Sky ECC encryption network and was suspected of being part of a “77-member crime group,” although somehow she managed to avoid prosecution for that bit.

But back to Belivuk. For wild man that he was, apparently he actually did want to imitate the Zemuns—and possibly even target Vucic--or at least that appears to have been the conclusion drawn by Vucic’s Vulin, who finally said enough is enough, prompting the arrest of Belivuk and 30 associates back in February 2021 on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and torture.

And in the meantime… let’s not forget various minor issues, such as when the head of the Serbian Service for Combating Organized Crime was arrested “returning a vehicle” to Belivuk. And there was also the sticky moment that Vulin had to step in and stop a bugging operation against Vucic himself (also in 2021).

And again, all of this was set against the background of Belivuk’s gangland murder squads that included torture chambers, as well as the dismemberment or “grinding up” of enemy mafia soldiers. For when it came to the Kavac-Skaljari cocaine war—in Serbia anyway—the dirty work on the Kavac side was handled by Belivuk and his Principi cohorts. And again Veljko' B.'s gang was tied to murder, extortion (think clubs and restaurants)—and this was a gang war that in the region has likely seen in excess of 200 persons killed.

Hey, if it looks like a Kavac, walks like a Kavac and kills like a Kavac… it’s probably a Kavac.

Which brings us back to the present (albeit in very roundabout fashion). For the Veselin M.-police-chief-covers-up-botched-gangland-meet-and-then-hides-the-body is really nothing new. At all.

And while the buck may stop there, let’s not believe even the top cop in Belgrade was calling the shots here.

In other words, some things never change.

Which is saying something.

I guess.

Preston Smith is a licensed investigator based in Gdansk, Poland. He can be reached at query@cddi.pl.

Photo of detained meth cook courtesy of the Polish CBSP.