Pale Car Theft Ring Busted: Did RS MoI Withhold Crucial Information?

After members of the Sarajevo Canton MoI prevented and arrested three thieves attempting to steal a BMW in Ilidža, and two were wounded in an exchange of fire between the robbers and police, their identities have become known. They are Savo Petričević, Bojan Koščarac, and Njegoslav Milinković, who reside in the Pale area (RS). They are known to the police from before.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office, as well as SIPA, the Border Police of BiH, and the Sarajevo Canton MoI are involved in the investigation. It is interesting that the RS MoI is not mentioned in the entire case.

As the Patria agency has reported on several occasions, according to reliable information, the reason for this lies in the fact that the RS MoI is well aware of car theft cases in Sarajevo, as at a meeting organized last year, individuals connected to the car theft ring were "threatened" that "no vehicle should be stolen in Pale and Sokolac".

This criminal group has been operating for a longer period, and they most often stole vehicles in the Dobrinja neighborhood, which is closest to Lukavica. At the end of June 2016, a VW Golf 5 was nearly stolen from a parking lot on Kasima Prohića street; the thieves managed to enter the car and damage the ignition lock. Around 10 PM, masked thieves arrived in a BMW but were deterred by people heading towards the parking lot and fled. Just a few nights before, license plates were stolen from one of the cars. Last week, in the late evening hours, a BMW was circling the parking lot but quickly drove away. According to eyewitness accounts, there were three people in the vehicle.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office announced that 1,000 cars are stolen annually, and two vehicles daily.

- The mentioned suspects are members of an organized criminal group that has been operating in Sarajevo and BiH for a longer period, according to operational and intelligence information. The BiH Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the Border Police, the Sarajevo Canton MoI, and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), is conducting intensive activities to combat the group of suspected members who are involved in theft, alienation, forgery of documents, and further sale of expensive motor vehicles, due to the existence of elements of international and organized crime - it was announced on Friday from the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

In May alone, 103 motor vehicles were stolen in the Federation of BiH, with the highest number in Sarajevo Canton, as many as 72. The most frequently stolen vehicle brands are VW, Audi, BMW, and Škoda, typically between 10 PM and 4 AM.

It is suspected that this group also stole several cars in the Dobrinja neighborhood in October last year, and in one case, a pistol was held to the head of the parking lot attendant. At the end of December, an Audi 3 was stolen from Dobrinja 5.

There is information that other groups operating with SUVs and rifles are also involved in car theft.