Foxtrot Leader Vanja Mijic Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison by Court of Appeal

Court of Appeal Verdict on Foxtrot Leader

In October 2023, Vanja Mijic was a high-priority Swedish gang criminal targeted by police in collaboration with their Serbian counterparts, Eurojust, and Interpol. He was arrested in Serbia on October 19, 2023. After being transferred to Sweden last year, he was charged with 13 counts: ten cases of serious drug offenses, one case of exceptionally serious drug offenses, serious weapons offenses, and violations of the law on flammable and explosive materials, serious offenses.

Last spring, he was sentenced by the Södertälje District Court to 11 years in prison for, among other things, exceptionally serious drug offenses. He was also ordered to pay approximately 600,000 SEK to the state for the profits he made from drug trafficking. Additionally, it was decided that cash and watches would be confiscated.

The district court noted that he had a leading role in extensive drug trafficking and that the criminal activity was linked to organized crime.

Controlled Trade in Twelve Swedish Cities

The crime scenes in Sweden included Skövde, Örebro, Uddevalla, Vänersborg, Norrköping, Gothenburg, Mariestad, Filipstad, Nora, Söderhamn, Gävle, and the Stockholm area. When the police examined his seized phones, they found conversations with Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid and a debt between them.

Today, the verdict was delivered by the Svea Court of Appeal. It announced that the district court's ruling is upheld "to the greatest extent." The Court of Appeal states: The man is also convicted in the Court of Appeal for exceptionally serious drug offenses and ten cases of serious drug offenses, although the Court of Appeal did not find all elements of the crime proven in certain points and determined a more limited crime period in some cases. Additionally, the Court of Appeal, like the district court, convicts for serious weapons offenses and violations of the law on flammable and explosive materials, serious offenses. The Court of Appeal also upholds the prison sentence and the forfeiture of conditionally granted freedom imposed by the district court.

Court of Appeal Judge Åsa Andersson, who was the referent in the case, states:

– The Court of Appeal considers that the man had a decisive influence over several other involved persons' drug dealings, but there is a lack of further investigation in the case about how the organization otherwise looked. Therefore, according to the Court of Appeal, it cannot be said on the existing basis that the man had a leading role or that the crime was committed in an organized form, at least not in the sense intended by the special legal provision on aggravating circumstances referred to by the prosecutor in the case. However, the Court of Appeal finds that the crimes were preceded by special planning, which in itself is an aggravating circumstance according to the same provision. Ultimately, the Court of Appeal arrives at the same penalty value as the district court, even though the reasoning partly differs from the district court's.

"Insufficient Evidence"

The Court of Appeal makes a partly different assessment regarding his connection to the said network. It argues that the evidence is not sufficient to "consider it established that he belonged to that network – or any other network – and that his crimes were committed within the framework of such organized activity."

Vanja Mijic has denied the charges.