CONTINUATION OF OPERATION CODENAMED “OAR”

In a coordinated operation of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and SIPA, in cooperation with partner institutions of Serbia, suspects for organised smuggling of migrants across the border on the river Drina were deprived of liberty.

Acting on the order of a prosecutor from the Special Department for Organised Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption, SIPA police officers, in cooperation with RS MoI police officers and with the OSA BiH assistance, arrested two suspects in the Bratunac area.

The suspects are under investigation and charged that they, as members of an international group for organised crime, which was organised for the transfer of illegal migrants from the Republic of Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina and further to EU countries, committed the crime of Organising a group or association for the purpose of perpetrating the criminal offence of smuggling of migrants in violation of Article 189a of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Within the international operation “Oar”, the suspects are under investigation and are suspected that they, acting in concert with to them known persons from the territory of the Republic of Serbia, participated in planning, organising and carrying out the smuggling of illegal migrants from the territory of the Republic of Serbia to the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina across the water border on the Drina River.

According to available information, a large percentage of illegal migrants in BiH enter our country exactly across the border on the Drina River, with the help of persons who, for the purpose of obtaining illegal property gain, carry out illegal activities on the transport and smuggling of the migrants.

The international operation codenamed “Oar”, is being carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the State Investigation and Protection Agency in cooperation with police officers from the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia - Department for Combating Organised Crime and the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime of the Republic of Serbia.

So far, a total of 18 suspected members of the organised criminal group, suspected of organising and taking part in the smuggling of at least 245 migrants from the Republic of Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina have been deprived of liberty during the work on the “Oar” case in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia.

During the work on the case, the Southeast European Law Enforcement Centre – SELEC provided support.

After interviewing the suspects, the case prosecutor will decide on further activities in the case.