SIPA seizes arsenal of weapons and explosives in Banja Luka, suspect planned smuggling into the EU

(Patria) - State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) police officers, in Banja Luka, while conducting operational activities under the order of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arrested one person on grounds of suspicion of committing the criminal offense of "Unauthorized Trafficking of Weapons and Military Equipment and Dual-Use Products", prescribed by the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who will be handed over to the further jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina after criminal processing and questioning as a suspect.

During the search of residential and auxiliary premises and movable property used by the arrested person, SIPA police officers discovered and temporarily seized 43 hand grenades, including plastic-bodied, black hand grenades, and metal-bodied, green hand grenades, 50 TNT blocks of 200 grams each, 20 TNT blocks weighing 200 grams each in plastic casing, four TNT blocks of 100 grams each, 61 electric detonator caps, a mobile phone with improvised wires coated in PVC and a detonator cap attached, two explosive devices, a PPSh automatic rifle marked "EC 455" with an attached magazine and 40 rounds of 7.62 mm caliber ammunition, three automatic rifles with attached magazines, a "PASP" military rifle with an optical sight and attached magazine and silencer, a hand-modified PAP-ovka firearm, a "GSM" pistol, 7.65 mm caliber with an attached magazine and eight rounds of ammunition, one thousand rounds of 7.62 mm caliber military ammunition, 294 rounds of 5.56x45 ammunition, a roll of detonating cord approximately 1.20 meters long, two anti-aircraft rounds of 20 mm caliber, and other items that may serve as evidence in further proceedings.

Unauthorized possession, concealment, and trafficking of military weapons represent one of the highest and most dangerous threats to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as these are means whose mere existence outside state control produces a constant, unpredictable, and systemic threat. This weaponry is not dangerous only at the moment of use, but its very existence creates a latent threat to citizens' lives, public order, the constitutional order, and international security. Its illegal concealment and offering on the market seriously undermine the fundamental principle of the rule of law by excluding the state's legitimacy over the means of force and opening the door to the most serious forms of crime, including terrorism, organized crime, and mass violence. Due to its destructive potential, uncontrollability, and unforeseeable consequences that can occur in a very short period, such a phenomenon requires an urgent, decisive, and comprehensive institutional response.

According to the results of the investigation so far, the aforementioned military weapons, explosives, and other equipment were intended for further sale and smuggling into European Union countries, with the aim of acquiring illegal property benefits.

SIPA continues its work on determining all facts related to the mentioned criminal offense, as well as on preventing all forms of crime, with a special emphasis on the unauthorized trafficking of weapons and military equipment and dual-use products.