FOREIGN CITIZENS SUSPECTED OF ORGANISED CRIME AND SEVERAL OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENCES APPREHENDED WITHIN THE OPERATION OF SIPA AND THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BIH

Acting under the supervision of a prosecutor from the Section for Combating Human Trafficking and Illegal Migrations of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, SIPA police officers apprehended in the Sarajevo area four foreign nationals (Afghans) suspected of organised crime and several other criminal offences.

The suspects are charged with having organised and smuggling illegal migrants in the territory of BiH, as well as committing several serious criminal offences in the territory of BiH, by which they seriously undermined the security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the arrested is suspected of the crime of murder, which took place in the Bihać area at the end of last year.

The suspects are also charged with kidnapping foreign citizens and demanding ransom for them, torturing and abusing the kidnapped persons and inflicting bodily injuries on them.

The aforementioned suspects are under investigation and charged with the following criminal offences - Organised crime set out in Article 250 (2) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in conjunction with the criminal offence of Smuggling of persons set out in Article 189 (1) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the criminal offences - Illicit possession of weapons or explosive substances set out in Article 371 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, Kidnapping set out in Article 180 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, Extortion set out in Article 295 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH and Slight bodily injury set out in Article 173 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, all in conjunction with Article 53 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

After interviewing the suspects, the prosecutor in charge will make a decision on further treatment of the suspects in terms of a motion to remand them in detention and other measures, as well as further activities in the investigation.

In the investigation and work on the case, significant cooperation was achieved with law enforcement agencies from the Republic of Serbia and the Swiss Confederation, as well as Europol and Interpol.