DRUGS, ARSON, CRIME Six arrested, three wanted

(Patria) - As part of the strategic commitment of the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs Police Directorate in the fight against organized crime and corruption, under the supervision of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Canton Sarajevo, police officers of the Police Directorate conducted an operation codenamed "Falcon", within which they identified and documented an organized criminal group that committed several criminal offenses in the Canton Sarajevo area to the detriment of several legal and natural persons.

During the operation, the following individuals were deprived of their liberty:

T.Š., born in 1998 in Verona, A.R., born in 1999 in Sarajevo, M.B., born in 1996 in Sarajevo, A.A., born in 1996 in Sarajevo, E.T., born in 1998 in Sarajevo, and A.T., born in 2000 in Sarajevo, while N.R., born in 1978 in Prijepolje, residing in Sarajevo, is currently hospitalized at the University Clinical Center Sarajevo due to injuries sustained from the use of firearms in the area of Stari Grad Sarajevo municipality on December 4, 2022.

In addition to the aforementioned individuals, police officers have issued an operational search for three more individuals, whose identities are known to the police, and who are currently on the run.

The said individuals are suspected of committing the following criminal offenses:

- Article 342. (Organized Crime) in conjunction with criminal offenses from Article 238. (Unauthorized Production and Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs), Article 239. (Possession and Facilitation of Drug Use), Article 371. (Illegal Possession of Weapons and Explosive Materials), Article 323. (Causing General Danger), Article 301. (Arson), and Article 293. (Damage to Another's Property) of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 74 of the Law on Suppression of Drug Addiction, Illicit Trafficking and Abuse of Narcotic Drugs of Canton Sarajevo.

By order of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo and under the supervision of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Canton Sarajevo, several searches of residential buildings in the Sarajevo and East Sarajevo areas were carried out, during which items related to the commission of criminal offenses were found and temporarily confiscated.

In the past period, the organized group engaged in the unauthorized procurement, transport, and sale of narcotic substances, and then, with the aim of settling scores with other organized groups and individuals involved in similar criminal offenses, committed several criminal offenses to the detriment of natural and legal persons by procuring and activating unknown explosive and other devices from individuals known to them at residential and business premises, and committed several criminal offenses of damage and arson to movable and immovable property of natural and legal persons, as well as through the use of firearms.

After the completion of the criminal investigation, the individuals T.Š., A.R., and A.A. were handed over to the further jurisdiction of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office of Canton Sarajevo with a report on the committed criminal offenses, while M.B., E.T., and A.T. were released from the official premises, and police officers continue to work on finding the individuals who are on the run.