New Discovery: Special Forces Alongside Armored Van Robbed Unicredit Bank in Kotor Varoš

The arrested special forces members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska are also under investigation for the spectacular robbery of the Unicredit bank branch in the center of Kotor Varoš, from which 200,000 marks were stolen on August 15, 2014, reports the Patria News Agency.

A source close to the investigation told Press that the Special Prosecutor's Office of Republika Srpska and the Directorate of Criminal Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, after solving the robbery of the armored van of "Sektor Sekjuriti" on the Bosanska Gradiška-Banja Luka highway, conducted a detailed analysis of unsolved robberies in the Banja Luka region and determined that in several cases there were overlaps and suspicions that the same perpetrators might be involved.

"Based on the method of execution, there are many similarities in the robbery of the armored van of 'Sektor Sekjuriti' and the robbery of the Unicredit bank branch in Kotor Varoš, when four masked robbers stole 200,000 marks. Security camera footage shows that in both cases the robbers moved in almost identical ways, and that they were of the same physical build. In both robberies, they used automatic rifles, including one with a wooden stock, and what connects them the most is the fact that both robberies were planned and the robbers knew that there was a large amount of money in the vault," explains the Press source.

As is already known, the role of the informant in the robbery of the armored van, which took place on September 22 last year, was played by "Sektor Sekjuriti" employee Danijel Kuzmić (29), who worked at the Unicredit bank headquarters, so he could have had knowledge of the amount of money in both cases. Coincidentally or not, Kuzmić is originally from Kotor Varoš, as is the arrested special forces member Aleksandar Popović (28).

"There are certain overlaps, and all of this will be the subject of an investigation, but we cannot disclose details to the public at this time," says the Press source.

At least four masked robbers participated in the robbery of Unicredit bank in Kotor Varoš, who arrived in front of the bank in a stolen Renault Scenic car.

At 8:05 AM, they entered the branch, and one of the robbers hit the "Sektor Sekjuriti" employee guarding the bank with the butt of his rifle and took his pistol. The others held the bank employees at gunpoint, ordering them to lie on the floor.

After that, they put a rifle barrel to the branch manager's head and, under threat of shooting, ordered him to open the vault and stole about 200,000 marks. It is interesting that on the very day of the robbery, the bank began paying salaries to the employees of the Kotor Varoš footwear factory "Sportek", which employs more than 1,600 people, which the robbers likely knew.

After the robbery, the robbers fled towards Skender Vakuf, and on the same day, the police found the Renault Scenic used in the robbery on a local road in a village. The car was not burned at that time either, and further checks revealed that the vehicle was stolen in the Banja Luka neighborhood of Starčevica the day before the robbery.