Extensive operation 'Trst': Migrant smugglers located in BiH and Croatia

(Patria) - In an operation codenamed “Trst”, individuals suspected of organized smuggling and transport of migrants from the territory of the Republic of Turkey through the Western Balkan countries to the Republic of Italy have been apprehended.

A prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption is coordinating the work and activities of SIPA police officers, who are carrying out searches and arrests at multiple locations in BiH. The activities of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH are being carried out in coordination with USKOK within the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia, and this is an operation aimed at discovering and prosecuting an organized smuggling ring for migrant smuggling, in which citizens of several countries are participating as perpetrators. Simultaneously, searches and arrests are being carried out in the territory of Croatia.

This is an extensive investigation in which smugglers who were part of the smuggling ring for the transport of migrants from Middle Eastern countries, as well as countries with high migration risk, from Turkey, through the Western Balkan countries, and then BiH and Croatia, all the way to the territory of the Republic of Italy, have been discovered and located.

According to the collected evidence, the perpetrators charged significant sums of money for smuggling, as illegal property gain, and organized the smuggling in detail, including accommodation, illegal transport, and smuggling of migrants across state borders. In this chain, migrants were taken over by members of the smuggling ring in a certain area, who would then transport them further towards their final destination.

This operation is one of the most extensive regional actions in the fight against illegal migration and migrant smuggling conducted in 2020.

After the activities are completed, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH and DORH will be able to provide more details.