Operation Kolt: 12 people arrested, searches at multiple locations

By order of the prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, police officers of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, in cooperation with the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, 12 people have been apprehended and searches are being conducted at multiple locations in the areas of Banja Luka, Gradiška, Zvornik and other cities, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

The operation under the code name "Kolt" is directed at several suspects who are under investigation for organized crime, in connection with the criminal offenses of tax evasion, abuse of authority in the economy and misleading consumers, in order to obtain illegal property benefits for members of the organized criminal group and cause damage to the BiH budget in large amounts.

Suspects in the "Kolt" operation are under investigation for the organized import of base oil (a petroleum product used for the production of oils and lubricants), to which they subsequently added additives and sold it as euro diesel, even though the product did not meet the technical standards for diesel fuel, nor environmental standards, thereby causing damage to car owners' vehicles, and also causing environmental pollution.

The investigation has established that by importing base oil, on which no tax or excise duty is paid, members of the organized criminal group were realizing illegal property benefits in the amount of approximately 30,000 KM for just one cistern of fuel, and their illegal activities have damaged the budget and all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina by large amounts, and have caused damage to consumers, as the use of the aforementioned fuel harms the engines of modern vehicles.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office and officers of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH have conducted a long and thorough investigation and collected evidence that proves the role of the suspects in committing the criminal offense.

After apprehension and searches, the suspects will be handed over to the acting prosecutor, who will question the suspects and then make a decision on further activities in the case.