Naser Kelmendi

Naser Kelmendi (born 15 February 1957 in Peć, Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian drug trafficker of Kosovo Albanian descent.

Early life

Kelmendi was born in Kosovo, then an autonomous province within Serbia as part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Career

In 1976 he served time in prison for attempted murder.[1] He then moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, and established his criminal operations in Sarajevo. While in the city, he greatly expanded his criminal network, being linked to criminals such as Safet "Sajo" Kalic, a suspected Montenegrin drug trafficker, but also maintaining contacts with important businessmen, including developer Fahrudin Radončić, owner of Dnevni avaz, Bosnia's largest circulation newspaper. His criminal activities included not only drug trafficking but also cigarette smuggling, money laundering and loan sharking.[2]

Naser Kelmendi and members of his family have been investigated multiple times by Bosnian police over the years. In 2008 Bosnian police produced a report on him to Interpol, revealing his vast influence in the country's drug trafficking rings. Despite this, as reported by the OCCRP, Kelmendi and his sons still were allowed to retain legal weapon permits.[1] According to Interpol, Kelmendi imported gold and textiles clandestinely from Turkey to Kosovo in the 1980s, and later, after the former Yugoslavia was placed under international sanctions, he smuggled oil, tobacco and drugs.[3] Kelmendi first came to international public scrutiny as a result of being the main suspect for the murder of his rival Ramiz Delalić, a Bosnian criminal and warlord who was the main perpetrator of the shooting of Nikola Gardović on 1 March 1992, considered the first murder of the Bosnian War.[4]

After initially fleeing to Montenegro, Kelmendi was arrested by the Kosovo Police in Pristina on 6 May 2013. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina does not recognize Kosovo, and thus has no extradition agreement with it, Kelmendi was tried in Pristina for crimes that he was alleged to have committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In February 2018, Kelmendi was sentenced to six years in prison for drug trafficking in Kosovo.[5]

In August 2018, the Kosovo Appeals Court dismissed the case against Kelmendi and ordered a retrial, after which Kelmendi was released pending the beginning of a new trial.[6] In May 2023, Kelmendi was once again found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.[7]

Family members

Naser Kalmendi's sons, Elvis, Besnik, and Liridon have all been prosecuted for criminal activities, as has his half-brother Bećir Kelmendi.

Bećir Kelmendi

On May 10, 2004, Bećir was sentenced to six-months probation for the purchase and carrying of a weapon without a permit.

Liridon Kelmendi

On a similar charge, on April 5, 2006, Liridon Kelmendi was given seven months probation for the same crime of the purchase and carrying of a weapon without a permit.

Elvis Kelmendi

On July 2, 2009 Elvis Kelmendi received a one-year probation for assault.[3] Elvis Kelmendi was re-arrested in July 2022 by Bosnian police for drug trafficking.[8]

References
  1. "Behind bars at last? Naser Kelmendi's arrest". The Economist. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. "Naser Kelmendi Profile". OCCRP Aleph (aleph.occrp.org). Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. CIN (16 November 2009). "Naser Kelmendi: From Kosovo Inmate to Sarajevo Businessman". OCCRP(www.occrp.org). Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  4. Jukic, Elvira M.; Peci, Edona (6 May 2013). "Kosovo Arrests Kelmendi on Drugs Charges". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. "Suspected Balkan crime boss jailed for six years in Kosovo". Reuters. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. "Kosovo Appeals Court Orders Retrial for Kelmendi's Case". Balkan Insight. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  7. "Kosovo Court Jails Naser Kelmendi for Drug Trafficking". Balkan Insight. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  8. "Bosnian Police Arrest Kelmendi's Son, Elvis, on Organised Crime Charges". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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