Operation "Lištica": SIPA searches facilities at 25 locations in wider BiH area

Police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) early this morning (February 11, 2016) launched an operation codenamed “Lištica“, which is being carried out in the area of Grude, Široki Brijeg, Čitluk, Zenica and Sarajevo.            

Activities are being conducted under orders from the Court of BiH and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH in cooperation with members of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of KS, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of HNK, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of ZHK and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of ZDK.

Searches of facilities at 25 locations and the arrest of several suspects are underway due to grounds for suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of organized crime in connection with the criminal offense of illegal trafficking of excise goods, illegal storage of goods, tax evasion or fraud, and money laundering. In this phase, searches have resulted in the discovery and temporary seizure of over three tons of cut tobacco, while searches at a larger number of locations are still ongoing.

Members of the organized crime group are suspected of illegally acquiring leaf tobacco, processing and cutting it, and unauthorizedly selling large quantities of cut tobacco to resellers and end customers throughout BiH from November 2015 to February 2016, with the aim of gaining illegal property benefits, without prior marking with excise stamps and payment of mandatory excise duty and VAT.

It is estimated that through their illegal activities in a three-month period, they sold at least 55 tons of tobacco, thereby damaging the budget of BiH by approximately 7,850,000 KM, and gaining illegal property benefits exceeding 1,200,000 KM.

The operation was preceded by an intensive criminal investigation conducted by SIPA investigators under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, with the aim of documenting the illegal activities of the suspects.