Kosovo-Bosnian businessman jailed for heroin trafficking

PRISTINA, Kosovo – A Kosovar court has sentenced a Balkan drug kingpin to six years in prison for trafficking 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of heroin to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2003.

The Pristina court on Thursday sentenced Naser Kelmendi, 60, a Kosovo-born Albanian businessman who also holds Bosnian citizenship.

He was arrested in 2013 on an international warrant issued from Bosnia, where he was investigated in connection with at least six murders, illegal money transfers and drug trafficking.

The court dropped charges of murder and running a criminal organization against Kelmendi Thursday.

In 2012 Kelmendi was included in a list issued by the U.S. Treasury that barred U.S. citizens from doing business with him and allowed authorities to freeze his U.S. assets.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Bosnia does not recognize it.