INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST THREE PERSONS FOR SMUGGLING OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

These accused persons are charged with smuggling illegal migrants who did not meet the conditions for a legal residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all in order to acquire unlawful material gain.

A Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued an Indictment against the following persons:

-          Zuhdija ODOBAŠIĆ, born in 1997 in Bužim, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

-          Semir BAJRAKTAREVIĆ, born in 1990 in Bosanska Krupa, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and

-          Hamza BAJRAKTAREVIĆ, born in 1998 in Bužim, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These accused persons are charged that, on 5 March last year, by mutual prior agreement and in order to acquire unlawful material gain, they agreed to smuggle and transport smuggled persons of Asian origin through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the direction of Sarajevo to Velika Kladuša.

According to the allegations in the Indictment, the aforementioned accused persons transported eighteen illegal migrants with whom they arranged to receive money as material gain for the commission of the criminal offense, and the migrants were transported in a van driven by the second accused, while the other two accused persons played the role of the so-called "cleaners", that is, they drove in a vehicle in front of them and informed him about possible police controls and patrols on the road.

These actions are contrary to the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

In the course of the commission of this criminal offense, the above-mentioned accused persons were detected and prevented by the police officers of the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of the Interior in the area of ​​Vogošća.

These accused persons are charged with the criminal offense of Smuggling of Persons, referred to in Article 189, paragraph 2, in conjunction with Article 29 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation.