The Bosnian Mafia is a term used to describe illegal gangs and criminal organisations operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

 and within the Bosnian diaspora

Bosnian diaspora

The Bosnian diaspora consists of Bosnian emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Australia and elsewhere...

. Bosnian organised crime figures operate mostly in Europe, as well as in Canada, the United States and Australia. Bosnian organised-crime groups are involved in a wide range of activities, including drug trafficking, gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

, cigarette smuggling

Cigarette smuggling

Cigarette smuggling is the illicit transportation of cigarettes from an administrative division with low taxation to a division with high taxation for sale and consumption...

, human trafficking

Human trafficking

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...

, prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, illicit antiquities trafficking, extortion

Extortion

Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...

 (often under the cover of ostensible security

Security guard

A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...

 and insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 companies) and the arms trade. Smuggling revenues are between €150 million and €300 million, equivalent to Bosnia and Herzegovina's annual state budget.

Organised-crime groups and activities

The Bosnian Mafia can be broadly divided into four categories – the Bosniak Mafia, the Bosnian Serb Mafia, the Bosnian Croat Mafia and many local organised-crime groups. The Bosnian Mafia groups are involved in a wide range of activities; one of their more notorious activities occurred in 2003 when they smuggled and sold 250,000 Zastava M70

Zastava M70

The Zastava M70 is a 7.62mm assault rifle developed in Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms. The M70 was designed on the basis of the AKM and became the standard issue assault rifle in the Yugoslav People's Army in 1970. The M70 is air-cooled, magazine-fed, selective fire rifle...

 Yugoslav-made AK-47

AK-47

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

s to Iraq.

Judicial prosecution and the struggle against criminal networks

The federalist

Federalism

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...

 government of Bosnia and Herzegovina makes fighting organised-crime groups extremely difficult. Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two largely independent entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...

 and Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

 – both of which have their own capital, parliament, president and police force. Due to the poor cooperation between law-enforcement agencies in the two regions, criminals can often evade prosecution simply by moving from one to the other. Mafia groups from neighbouring countries (particularly Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 and Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

) often base their operations in Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

, due to its proximity to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, there have been some efforts to increase collaboration between the two regions. In 2006 the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 established the State Investigation and Protection Agency

State Investigation and Protection Agency

The State Investigation and Protection Agency is the official state police agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. SIPA is under the direct administration of the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

. SIPA is a Bosnian federal police agency with authority in both regions, and is under the direct administration of the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH MIS).