MOTION TO EXTEND CUSTODY FOR SUSPECTS IN THE CASE CODENAMED “IRA”

The prosecutor of the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption in charge of the case submitted to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina a motion to extend custody for three months for the suspects Željko Radovanović and Igor Vilotić.

The aforementioned suspects are under investigation for criminal offences of organised crime related to the smuggling and illicit trafficking of large quantities of narcotic drugs, money laundering and other serious crimes.

The suspects are under investigation together with several persons who are charged of having operated in the area of Bijelina and its surroundings and other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The custody measure was requested because it is necessary to complete mutual assistance activities between the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the structures of Europol, the USA and France in order to obtain all the documentation and evidence in this complex case of organised crime.

The ordering of the custody measure was moved due to the danger that the suspects might obstruct the investigation, conceal evidence or exert influence on witnesses or accomplices, repeat the criminal offence or complete the started one.

In addition, this case includes related suspects who are on the run and for whom the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is looking for through international arrest warrants.

At the hearing held in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the prosecutor in charge provided the reasons for the motion for extension of custody.