Curfew also affected car thieves: Four cars stolen in Sarajevo in March

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Four cars were stolen in the Sarajevo Canton area in March, and two were returned to their owners by police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, Mirza Hadžiabdić, spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, confirmed to Patria. In March 2019, nine cars were stolen. 

The curfew and increased police controls have apparently led to a reduction in thefts in the Sarajevo Canton area. It was previously stated that there was an overall decrease in criminal offenses during the curfew period. 

For comparison, during February of this year, 10 cars were stolen in the Sarajevo Canton area, of which four were returned. Two were returned by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, and two were found by the owners themselves. 

In January, 11 cars were stolen, and in the same month, 13 were returned, of which seven vehicles were stolen in an earlier period. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton returned seven vehicles, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska and other Ministries returned one each, and owners found four vehicles themselves. 

During the reporting month, police officers submitted official reports to the competent prosecutor's office against one person on grounds of suspicion of involvement in the theft of motor vehicles.

In 2019, 173 motor vehicle thefts were registered in the Sarajevo Canton area, of which 93 were returned. 55 vehicles were returned by the police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, two by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, nine by other Ministries, and 27 vehicles were found by their owners. 

Due to grounds for suspicion of involvement in the commission of motor vehicle thefts in the Sarajevo Canton area, official reports were submitted to the competent prosecutor's office against 42 individuals, of whom 33 are repeat offenders. 

The year before (2018), 279 cars were stolen in the Sarajevo Canton area. After the murder of two Sarajevo police officers on October 24, 2018, for which car theft groups are suspected, the number of luxury car thefts in Sarajevo began to decline. The murderers of the Sarajevo police officers, nor the masterminds, have ever been discovered, and it is increasingly heard that the investigation has gone in the wrong direction and that the perpetrators will go unpunished.