Bosnian arms probe links police officer to Iran-tied Foxtrot network

September 25, 2026 at 04:39 PM3 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Bosnian authorities detained a police officer suspected of diverting firearms into illegal channels that reached Iran-linked criminal networks across Europe. The officer committed suicide while under supervision, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The probe, conducted with Europol, uncovered a supply chain allegedly leading to the Swedish Foxtrot network.

Key Facts

Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and Europol carried out searches across Bosnia this week, detaining a police officer in Ilijas.
The detained officer was suspected of misusing firearms permits to purchase pistols from at least two Bosnian companies, Bratunac and Doboj, and rerouting them into illegal channels.
Dozens of firearms were acquired by criminal groupings through this path in 2024 and 2025, according to information obtained by RFE/RL.
One supply chain allegedly led to Foxtrot, a Swedish criminal network sanctioned by the United States and Britain for alleged links to the Iranian regime.
Weapons illegally obtained from Bosnia were used in at least five armed incidents linked to Foxtrot, sources familiar with the investigation told RFE/RL.

The Investigation

The Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), working with Europol, carried out searches this week at several locations across the country. A police officer in the town of Ilijas was detained during the operation. While under SIPA supervision, the officer obtained a gun and committed suicide. He was suspected of misusing firearms permits issued to residents of Ilijas and the surrounding area to purchase pistols from at least two Bosnian companies -- Bratunac and Doboj -- and rerouted them into illegal channels. Information obtained by RFE/RL suggests that dozens of firearms were acquired by the criminal groupings through this path in 2024 and 2025.

Foxtrot Network Links

One of the supply chains described to RFE/RL allegedly led to Foxtrot, a Swedish criminal network under sanctions by the United States and Britain. The network has been the subject of international investigations in recent years for alleged links to the Iranian regime. Foxtrot is associated with Rawa Majid, who was born to a Kurdish family in Iran and grew up in the Swedish city of Uppsala. Known as the Kurdish Fox, Majid has been wanted internationally since 2020 for alleged involvement in major drug offenses and the planning of murders, and has been named one of Sweden's most wanted criminals. According to Swedish public broadcaster SVT, Majid moved from Europe to Iran in September 2023.

Iran Proxy Operations

Citing information attributed to Israel's Mossad intelligence service, SVT reported Majid was then allegedly given a choice between imprisonment and cooperation with Iranian authorities. In 2025, the US Treasury Department said Foxtrot had organized the January 2024 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on behalf of the Iranian government, adding Majid had cooperated with Iran's Intelligence and Security Ministry. SVT has alleged that Majid ran his network remotely for years, drawing on operatives who also carried out assignments for other criminal groups. While it has not been officially confirmed that any of the weapons in the Bosnian investigation were used in Iran-linked attacks, sources familiar with the investigation told RFE/RL that weapons illegally obtained from Bosnia were used in at least five armed incidents linked to Foxtrot. In 2024, Sweden's Security Service publicly confirmed that Iran was using Swedish criminal networks as proxies for violent operations in Sweden and other countries.