Joint International Operational Action by EUROPOL Realized

In the period from 27.01. to 29.01.2017, a joint international operational action JAD WB 2016 was carried out on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkan countries, the aim of which was to prevent and solve criminal offenses related to illegal trade in firearms and explosives, without neglecting the prevention and solving of other criminal offenses in the field of organized crime.

In addition to the Western Balkan countries, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA participated in the operational action, as well as FRONTEX and EUROPOL.

In order to ensure more efficient exchange of information, coordination, and realization of the operational action, an operational center was established at EUROPOL headquarters in The Hague, where representatives of law enforcement agencies from the countries covered by the action and EUROPOL experts were located during the action, providing real-time verification results through EUROPOL's analytical databases. A high degree of communication, coordination, and cooperation was achieved during the action, as evidenced by the significant amount of information exchanged between the participating countries.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Border Police of BiH, the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, the Federal Police Administration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Zenica-Doboj Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Central Bosnia Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Una-Sana Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Posavina Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bosniak-Podrinje Canton, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of West Herzegovina Canton, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Canton 10 Livno participated in the operational action.

During the implementation of the operational action, law enforcement agencies in BiH inspected a total of 36,068 individuals, 1,721 vehicles, 12,311 documents, and 17 pieces of weapons, with 2 individuals deprived of liberty and two criminal offenses solved, one firearm and several rounds of ammunition of various calibers seized. Checks were also carried out on specific individuals and vehicles by police bodies in BiH based on information received from other participating countries and EUROPOL.

The Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH thanks all law enforcement agencies in BiH whose members participated in the preparation and realization of this operational action, and emphasizes its readiness for further continuous measures and actions within its jurisdiction to combat criminal offenses and misdemeanors in this area of crime.