Indictment against 10 persons for organized migrant smuggling

(Patria) - The Prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption has filed an indictment against:

1. Mirković Nenad, aka "Neno", born in 1981 in Bijeljina
2. Simić Nikola, born in 1994 in Bijeljina
3. Vićanović Dražen, born in 1995 in Bijeljina
4. Petrović Milan, aka "Mikara", born in 1995 in Bijeljina
5. Vidaković Ognjen, aka "Ogi", born in 1995 in Loznica, residing in Zvornik
6. Vilotić Marjan, born in 1991 in Bijeljina
7. Kokanović Nikola, born in 1999 in Bijeljina
8. Bjelović Mirko, born in 1997 in Brčko
9. Puzigaća Đorđe, born in 1992 in Mrkonjić Grad, residing in Brčko
10. Tešić Anđel, born in 1996 in Brčko.

The accused are charged with, in the first half of 2019, after the accused Mirković Nenad organized a group of people to commit the criminal offense of smuggling of persons, joining the said group and acting jointly, with several persons from the territory of BiH, Serbia and Croatia, for the purpose of acquiring unlawful property gain, carrying out organized smuggling of illegal migrants, mostly nationals of Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Syria, India and other countries, across the territory of BiH, with the aim of their illegal transport towards EU countries, acting contrary to Article 6 of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The indictment states that the accused carried out the smuggling of migrants from the territory of Serbia into BiH, then their accommodation and further illegal transport across the territory of BiH, with the aim of further illegal transfer to the territory of Croatia and further towards EU countries", the BiH Prosecutor's Office announced.

The investigation established that the accused participated in the smuggling of at least 141 illegal migrants, thereby obtaining significant unlawful property gain, as well as damaging the reputation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of the fight against illegal migrant smuggling. The accused are charged with committing the criminal offense of organizing a group or association for the commission of the criminal offense of smuggling of migrants, under Article 189a of the Criminal Code of BiH, in conjunction with the extended criminal offense of smuggling of persons under Article 189 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

The prosecution will prove the allegations of the indictment by summoning around 100 witnesses and expert witnesses and submitting more than 150 pieces of evidence.