THE INTERNATIONAL OPERATION CODENAMED “ZIP” FOCUSED ON THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRATION UNDER WAY

In the area of the Tuzla Canton, the police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency – SIPA are carrying out activities of the deprivation of liberty of persons and the searches of buildings and vehicles as part of the operation codenamed “ZIP” under the supervision of a prosecutor from the Section for Combating Human Trafficking and Illegal Migrations.

The activities are aimed at 17 reported persons, who are suspected of organised and continuous smuggling of illegal migrants from the territory of Türkiye towards the Republic of Croatia and EU countries.

According to the collected evidence, the members of this organised group would, with the assistance of their members who are hiding in Türkiye, find illegal migrants, who would then arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina on regular flights via regular airlines. The members of the organised group would accept them and accommodate them in BiH, and make preparations for their further smuggling, most often in freight motor vehicles transporting goods to the territory of Germany and the EU, in which they would leave space for the accommodation of migrants who would be transported to the EU in this way.

It is suspected that this group smuggled a large number of illegal migrants in the above-mentioned manner, and law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia managed to detect and intercept a total of 4 transports with around 60 illegal migrants.

After police processing, the suspects will be handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the prosecutor in charge will decide on the motion that they be ordered into custody or that prohibition measures be imposed on them, as well as on further steps and activities in the investigation.

Partner institutions and agencies in the Republic of Croatia are simultaneously carrying out activities in the field, which are aimed at suspects who are in the territory of Croatia.

The fight against illegal migrations is one of the priorities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and partner institutions and law enforcement agencies, with almost daily activities in this area in all parts of BiH.