CUSTODY MOTION FOR A DUTCH CITIZEN SUSPECTED OF SMUGGLING A LARGE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS FROM THE TERRITORY OF IRAQ

The case prosecutor of the Section for Fight against Trafficking in Persons and Illegal Migrations filed a custody motion against the following suspect who was deprived of liberty within the operation codenamed ‘ISTOK-TIGRIS’ /EAST-TIGRIS/:

1.       Karwan Kader Hmawmein, born in 1967 in Iraq, citizen of the Netherlands, residing in Morocco.

The aforementioned suspect is under investigation by the BiH Prosecutor’s Office and domestic and international partner institutions and agencies and is suspected of having, together with other persons, participated in bringing a large number of Iraqi citizens to BiH, who were then smuggled from BiH to EU countries.

According to the collected evidence, this group is suspected of smuggling more than 1,500 people, in the process of which they acquired unlawful property gain in large amounts.

In the aforementioned case, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, together with partner institutions and agencies from BiH, and in cooperation with EUROPOL and partner institutions of Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, UK, etc., is conducting an investigation against several persons suspected of having participated in a chain of illegal smuggling of a large number of people, citizens of Iraq, from BiH, through the Republic of Croatia and further towards the EU countries.

The motion for determining the detention measure was sent to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.