IN THE HIGH-TARIFF GOODS SMUGGLING CASE THE ACCUSED PERSONS ADMITTED GUILT AND CONCLUDED PLEA AGREEMENTS; SUSPENDED IMPRISONMENT SENTENCES AND FINES PROPOSED AS WELL AS CONFISCATION OF ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED PROPERTY

The conclusion of plea agreements will complete the case and a significant quantity of smuggled goods, as well as equipment used for smuggling, will be seized.

Having faced the indictment and evidence, in the presence of a lawyer, the accused persons Neđo Anđelić (1982) and Bojan Jeremić (1977) from Trebinje, BiH citizens, have admitted committing the criminal offenses they are charged with.

The accused in the case codenamed "Pat" are charged with having, during the period from 30 August to 15 September 2016, while acting as members of a group led by a person from the Republic of Montenegro, participated in commission of criminal offenses of smuggling, reselling and intermediating in distribution of goods from Montenegro that were not customs cleared i.e. cigarettes that were not marked with appropriate excise stamps. The accused persons committed smuggling of the said goods as previously agreed with a person from the Republic of Montenegro where that person brought the said goods to the Montenegrin side of the Bilećko lake, on the interstate border between the Republic of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina,  and the accused persons then took over and reloaded the goods on a rubber boat and transported it to the Bosnia and Herzegovina side of the shore, then further transported it in vehicles to storage in the aim of further sale.

The plea agreement stipulates that the accused Neđo Anđelić be rendered a single imprisonment sentence for a term of one (1) year and six (6) months, which shall not be enforced providing that the accused does not commit a new criminal offense for a period of next two years, as well as that all items used for the commission of a criminal offense, including a rubber boat, a boat engine, a motor vehicle, mobile phones and temporarily seized cigarettes be confiscated from him. The unlawful property gain in amount of BAM 12,000 shall be confiscated from the accused.

It is also proposed that the accused Bojan Jeremić be rendered a single sentence of imprisonment of one (1) year and four (4) months as the main sentence, which will not be executed providing that the accused does not commit a new criminal offense for a period of two years, and that an additional sentence be imposed in form of a fine in the amount of BAM 2,000 as well as to confiscate the items used for the commission of the criminal offense including a hand held radio.

During the course of the searches conducted, about 1900 boxes of cigarettes were found and seized, and the proposed sentences are in line with the roles of the accused in the commission of criminal offenses.

By virtue of concluded plea agreements the accused persons renounce their right to a trial and their right to appeal the judgment, which the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will pronounce on the basis of the agreement.

Given that the indictment includes these two persons the acceptance of the plea agreement and the pronouncement of the sentence will mark the completion of the case.

The agreements were forwarded to the Court of BiH.