Indictment filed against two individuals for organized car crime

(Patria) - The Prosecutor of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the BiH Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Ivan Jovanović (born 1982 in Priboj), a BiH citizen, and Jozo Cigić (born 1982 in Mostar), a previously convicted citizen of BiH and Croatia.

The accused are charged with participating as members of an organized crime group: the accused Ivan Jovanović in taking over stolen vehicles in the territory of BiH on at least four occasions, hiding vehicles in prepared secret locations, as well as smuggling them illegally across the state border and handing over vehicles in the territory of Serbia, and the accused Jozo Cigić in stealing motor vehicles, hiding them, dismantling and selling them in parts.

During the investigation, evidence was collected that the accused acted according to precisely defined and divided roles and tasks within the structures of the so-called car mafia.

The accused are charged that, as members of an organized crime group, the accused Jovanović assisted in committing the criminal offense of aggravated theft by concealing traces of the criminal offense and items obtained through the criminal offense, and the accused Cigić by breaking into, forcing entry and otherwise overcoming major obstacles to access property from closed spaces, taking another's property from them, thereby committing the criminal offense of organized crime under Article 250 of the Criminal Code of BiH, in conjunction with the criminal offense of aggravated theft under Article 287 of the Criminal Code of FBiH.

The indictment details the commission of car thefts and other illegal activities in nine individual cases attributed to the accused.

The prosecution will prove the allegations by calling 21 witnesses and submitting dozens of pieces of evidence.

The original indictment in the "Volan" case did not include these accused, as they were not available to the competent authorities and a warrant had been issued for them by the Court of BiH.

After the suspects became available and were extradited to the BiH Prosecutor's Office, the procedural conditions for filing the indictment were met.

The indictment has been forwarded to the Court of BiH for confirmation, which has confirmed it.