Lukač: SIPA failed in Prijedor murder case, Foča individuals 'targeted' FBiH inspector

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Encrypted phones and applications led to the arrest of Dalibor Railić, the mastermind behind the murder of the head of the Prijedor Police Department, Radenko Bašić, as well as his accomplices and the killer. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, Dragan Lukač, stated that an investigation is now underway into why the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs was not officially informed about information that, according to him, the SIPA office in Mostar received from an informant in December last year – that Railić was looking for someone to kill a police officer. An investigation will also be organized within the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Lukač emphasizes that it will start with the Prijedor police officers. Anyone who cooperated with criminals or turned a blind eye will be prosecuted.

- That information was circulating in mid-December last year and was forwarded to the office in Banja Luka, but we never officially received information that one of our inspectors could be endangered. The specific name was not mentioned in that information either, but Railić was mentioned as someone looking for a potential perpetrator to kill a police officer for money. I don't know why that information wasn't delivered to us on time. I believe we could have taken better steps and prevented the murder, because we certainly would have acted against Railić, and perhaps that would have been enough to prevent such a heinous act,” Lukač stated.

He stated that a complete investigation needs to be conducted, and mentioned that the Director of SIPA, Darko Ćulum, has already initiated a certain internal procedure to see how the information circulated and why it did not reach the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“I think he personally was not aware of it either, and that the operatives in the field had it and archived it somewhere,” said Lukač.

He emphasized that EUROPOL helped them, and that they found Railić through encrypted phones in communication with some criminals they had previously imprisoned, as well as with those who are the next targets of the police. He said that Railić ordered the murder precisely because he feared that the police would reach him due to organized crime and drug trafficking, which, according to Lukač, he was involved in.

“We knew from the start who and how the mastermind could be, but we didn't know the perpetrator. We needed to reach him. This shows that criminals must be aware that there is a police force fighting against them, and one day the police will reach them and put them where they belong – in prison. If they think they can kill any police officer or anyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and that it will stop us – they are mistaken. We will not stop. Unfortunately, we still have criminals who are ready to resort to weapons to protect themselves and their businesses, but they must be aware that no matter how strong they think they are and how much money they have earned through criminal activities, they cannot be stronger than the police,” said Lukač.

Speaking about Adel Kabaš, for whom they were searching and published a "composite sketch" that caused public debate, he said that they connected him to this case because he had a previous murder conviction and is considered a person capable of committing such an act.

Lukač also said that there was certain information that individuals in Foča intended to "blow up" the car of a police inspector from the FBiH Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“Whether the intention was to blow him up too… Everything is to be expected. I immediately gave the order to proceed with the arrests and prosecution, thereby preventing a criminal act and the murder of another inspector in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.