BiH Border Police and RS MoI Operation: Searches at 20 Locations for Illegal Trafficking of Excise Products

Police officers of the BiH Border Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska have been conducting an operational action codenamed Wolf for several months, under the supervision of the BiH Prosecutor's Office. Searches are being carried out at 20 locations. For the first time, cooperation between police agencies under the supervision of the BiH Prosecutor's Office and by order of the BiH Court has been achieved in this manner. During this operation, numerous criminal offenses of organized smuggling and distribution of foreign cigarettes without excise stamps were documented, involving a larger number of individuals organized into interconnected criminal groups. These groups have a clearly defined division of labor, with roles assigned to organizers, suppliers, drivers, cleaners, buyers, and accomplices in the smuggling and distribution of cigarettes. These organized criminal groups were interconnected in a criminal network that extended from Montenegro to BiH with the aim of committing identical criminal offenses of smuggling and distribution of cigarettes.

Currently, 250 members of the BiH Border Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska are engaged in the implementation of the operation.

The public will have more detailed information regarding the Wolf operational action during the day.