INDICTMENT FILED AGAINST FIVE PERSONS FOR SMUGGLING FOREIGN CITIZENS

A prosecutor from the Department for Fight against Smuggling of Persons and Trafficking in Persons of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed an indictment against:

-           BOŠKO ĐURIĆ, aka ‘Bole’, born in 1972 in Gradačac, previously convicted, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia,

-           DARKO ŠUPICA, born in 1982 in Brčko, previously convicted, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

-           ĐOKO ŠUPICA, born in 1982 in Brčko, previously convicted, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

-           RADE PERIĆ, born in 2001 in Doboj, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and

-           DARKO MIŠIĆ, aka ‘Maraš’ and ‘Čvare’, born in 1986 in Vlasenica, previously convicted, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The charges against the defendants are that in the period between 6 February and 8 February 2022, with the intention of acquiring unlawful property gain, organised and became members of a group or other association for the commission of the criminal offence of migrant smuggling, and that by accepting, transporting and housing 26 foreign citizens of the Republic of Türkyie, they facilitated their illegal stay in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of their further illegal transfer across the BiH state border to the Republic of Croatia and further to the EU countries.

According to the allegations from the indictment, the defendants, who acted on the instructions of the organiser of the group - the first accused Boško Đurić, who acted in agreement and coordination with a person known to him, took part in the illegal transfer of foreign citizens across the state border for the agreed amount of EUR 600 per smuggled person, and they also organised the accommodation of foreign persons in the area of Tuzla and Modriča and used commercial motor vehicles from the company owned by the first defendant for their illegal transport.

The foreign nationals were discovered during a regular control by the police officers of the BiH Border Police at the international border-crossing point Šamac, in the freight area of a freight motor vehicle with a trailer, which was operated by the defendants Darko and Đoko Šupica.

In order to ensure the collection of money for foreign nationals, the accused withheld their documents until payment, and during the search of the premises of the house they used, travel documents of smuggled foreign nationals were found.

The defendants are accused of having committed the criminal offense of organising a group or association for the commission of the criminal offence of smuggling migrants set out in Article 189a in conjunction with the criminal offence of smuggling of persons set out in Article 189 of the BiH Criminal Code, all in conjunction with Articles 26 and 29 of the same Code.

The defendant Darko Mišić is accused of having attempted to illegally transport five foreign citizens of the Republic of Türkyie across the state border in order to acquire unlawful property gain, in which intention he was prevented by member of the BiH Border Police, Border Police Unit Gorica, in the immediate vicinity of the state border in the municipality of Posušje.

The defendant is charged with having committed the criminal offence of smuggling of persons set out in Article 189 in conjunction with Article 26 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

In this case, during the investigation, significant cooperation was achieved between the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the police agencies of the Border Police of BiH and the Directorate for Serious and Organised Crime of the Republika Srpska Ministry of the Interior.