Epilogue of police operation on rigged driving tests: Police officer among eight arrested

(Patria) - Eight people have been arrested in an operation by the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs codenamed "Target" carried out in the areas of Bosanski Novi, Bosanska Kostajnica, and Prijedor. A police officer is among those arrested.

The operation was carried out today by police officers of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs' Administration for Organized and Serious Crime.

Searches at 13 locations were conducted under the supervision of the Republican Public Prosecutor's Office of the RS - Special Department for Combating Corruption, Organized and the Most Serious Forms of Economic Crime, and by order of the District Court of Banja Luka.

The "Target" operation has been ongoing for a longer period and is aimed, as stated by the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, at uncovering and proving abuses, malversations, and irregularities in the process of taking driving tests in the municipality of Bosanski Novi.

"The investigation has established that there are grounds for suspicion that certain driving school owners, along with certain members of the examination committee, have enabled candidates to pass driving tests illegally over a longer period, in exchange for monetary compensation.

In this way, they have committed the criminal offenses of 'Committing a criminal offense as part of a criminal association', 'Abuse of official position or authority', and 'Trading in influence'," the statement reads.

The RS Ministry of Internal Affairs adds that, based on the evidence collected so far, there are grounds for suspicion that dozens of people have acquired the right to drive a motor vehicle in this manner.

Among them, it is added, were individuals who did not meet the general health requirements for drivers in other municipalities and examination committees, did not possess the necessary knowledge of traffic regulations, and some are suspected of being illiterate.

"The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Prijedor Police Administration and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Una-Sana Canton. Upon completion of the activities, the arrested persons will be brought before the competent prosecutor with a report on the committed criminal offense," the statement from the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs concludes.