Europol announced on Thursday that 37 criminals were arrested in seven countries in a major police operation coordinated by Croatian police to eliminate an “extremely violent” criminal group in the Western Balkans, AFP reported.

This criminal network was involved in large-scale drug and arms trafficking in Europe, the European Crime Agency said.

“A total of 37 suspects were arrested during the investigation, and the leader of the gang, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who is considered a high-profile Europol target, is currently serving a four-year prison sentence in Italy,” Europol said.

The leader of the gang is suspected of coordinating drug and arms trafficking activities, giving orders to his subordinates in prisons.

On Thursday, police operations were carried out simultaneously in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Germany to arrest members of the criminal group.

At the same time, the police seized 148,000 euros in cash, 18 firearms, including two machine guns, and 500 grams of TNT with a remote trigger.

15 kg of cocaine, 11 kg of heroin, 3 kg of amphetamine, 7 kg of marijuana and 10 kg of cannabis were also seized.

This large-scale operation was preceded by a complex investigation conducted by the Croatian police as part of the Balkan Cartel operational mission.