Car thefts reported in Dobrinja, focus shifts from new to older vehicles

(Patria) - In the past month, two Škoda cars have been stolen from two parking lots in the Dobrinja neighborhood of Sarajevo, and the Sarajevo police are searching for them.

One vehicle was stolen on October 1st, and the other at the end of October. Neither has been found yet.

Official statistics for October have not yet been released, nor has information for September been published on the MUP KS website.

In August, five vehicles were stolen in the Canton of Sarajevo, and four in July. In the first six months of 2025, 21 vehicles were stolen, and the same number were recovered.

In August alone, four cars were recovered (two by police officers of the MUP KS Police Directorate, one by MUP RS, and one by the owner).

Due to reasonable suspicion of involvement in the theft of motor vehicles, official reports have been filed against 16 individuals in the first eight months of 2025.

Regarding 2024, a total of 47 cars were stolen, and 34 motor vehicles were recovered. The MUP KS Police Directorate recovered 18 vehicles, MUP RS recovered four, other MUPs recovered four, while owners themselves recovered eight vehicles.

During 2024, reports of reasonable suspicion of involvement in vehicle theft were filed against 15 individuals.

Stolen motor vehicles in 2024 include: VW GOLF II – seven vehicles, VW GOLF III – five, OPEL and CITROEN – four each, VW GOLF VI, RENAULT, and MERCEDES – three each, VW GOLF V and TOYOTA – two each, etc., and all vehicles are over nine years old.

After the murder of Sarajevo police officers Adis Šehović and Davor Vujinović in October 2018 and the mass arrests of car theft ring members, vehicle thefts significantly decreased. On the other hand, luxury cars are now harder to steal due to their security features. However, car theft in KS has not been eradicated, as evidenced by the new cases in Dobrinja.

Incidentally, according to the statistics of the MUP KS Police Directorate, in 2024, the most cars were stolen in the areas of Novi Grad and Ilidža municipalities.