SIPA arrested 15 people: Almost 12 tons of tobacco, cigarettes, drugs, assault rifle, 120 bullets, and three bombs seized

(Patria) - In an operation codenamed "Lan", which has been carried out since the early morning hours by officials of the Indirect Taxation Authority (UIO) BiH and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), excise goods worth 2.7 million KM were found and confiscated.

This is one of the largest seizures of tobacco and tobacco products since the establishment of the UIO BiH.

The temporarily seized excise goods were intended for sale on the black market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At several locations, 1,854 kilograms of finely cut tobacco, intended for filling cigarettes, 10 tons of leaf tobacco ready for cutting, 90,500 hand-rolled cigarettes, 80,000 filters, five machines for finely cutting tobacco, eight machines for filling cigarettes, 10 machines for packaging cigarettes, and two scales were seized.

Officials of the UIO BiH and SIPA conducted searches in residential and auxiliary buildings, as well as movable property, at 18 locations in the areas of Bosanski Šamac, Donji Žabar, Gradačac, Banja Luka, Čelinac, Laktaši, and Pale.


Photo: UIO BiH

SIPA's statement indicated that 15 people were arrested on grounds of suspicion of committing criminal offenses of "Organized Crime" and "Illegal Trade in Excise Goods", as stipulated by the Criminal Code of BiH.

After criminal processing and questioning as suspects, the arrested individuals will be handed over to the further jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH.

During the operation, an automatic rifle, a magazine for an automatic rifle, 120 bullets, three bombs, three packets of a powdery substance resembling the narcotic drug "speed", as well as other items that could serve as evidence in further proceedings, were found and seized.

The aforementioned actions resulted in damage to the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the amount of approximately 2.7 million convertible marks due to unpaid excise duties, SIPA's statement emphasizes.

The searches were conducted under the order of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. In the realization of the operational action "Lan", police officers from the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska and the Tuzla Canton provided support to the UIO BiH and SIPA.