Operative Action 'Renta': Two Persons Deprived of Liberty for Migrant Smuggling

(Patria) - Police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) today carried out an operative action codenamed 'Renta', during which two persons of Turkish nationality were deprived of liberty on suspicion of having committed the criminal offenses of 'Organizing a group or association for the commission of the criminal offense of migrant smuggling' and 'Human smuggling' as prescribed by the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Following criminal processing and questioning as suspects, the deprived persons will be handed over to the further jurisdiction of the acting prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the implementation of this operative action, a search of one residential building was conducted, during which items that may serve as evidence in criminal proceedings were found and temporarily seized, including: mobile phones, certain documentation, and 85 passports of Turkish nationals who had been smuggled in the previous period.

The operative action 'Renta' is the result of the work of police officers within the Zebra Operational Group, operating under the auspices of Europol, as well as cooperation with police bodies of the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Slovenia, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of France, and the United Kingdom.

The deprived persons had been active on the Western Balkan route for an extended period and are suspected of having smuggled over 100 illegal migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina into European Union countries.

The activities were carried out by order of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the Service for Foreigners' Affairs, the Ministries of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska and the Central Bosnia Canton.