Prosecutor's Office of BiH and SIPA: Trio arrested for drug trafficking

Acting on the order of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, an operation against the drug mafia is underway in the area of Bosanski Novi, involving dozens of SIPA police officers, and 3 people have been arrested, including the suspected organizer and one of the key figures in drug trafficking in BiH, it was announced from the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

On the order of a prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime, and Corruption, dozens of police officers began searches and arrests early this morning in the municipality of Bosanski Novi.

The targets of the operation are three suspects for organized crime and unauthorized international trafficking of narcotic drugs, and the arrested individuals are: Selimagić Jasmin, born in 1987 in Prijedor, residing in Bosanski Novi; Novaković Anđelko, born in 1985 in Bosanska Krupa, residing in Bosanski Novi; and Kurti Ganija, born in 1969 in Nikšić, a citizen of Montenegro, who is under the supervision of the BiH Service for Foreigners' Affairs (SPS).

Simultaneously with the arrests, searches of facilities and vehicles used by the suspects were carried out in the area of Bosanski Novi.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH, in cooperation with SIPA and partner agencies from Montenegro, conducted a detailed and thorough investigation, during which evidence was gathered that the mentioned suspects participated in the international smuggling of large quantities of narcotic drugs "marijuana" and "skunk" from Montenegro into Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were further distributed on the illegal drug market in the northwestern part of BiH.

The investigation established that the suspect Kurti Ganija, who was serving a sentence at the Zenica Penitentiary, coordinated the smuggling of narcotic drugs into Bosnia and Herzegovina from prison through contacts in Montenegro and BiH. He is a person who was previously expelled from BiH and illegally re-entered BiH using forged documents, where he was arrested.

So far, the investigation has determined that the suspects smuggled quantities of several kilograms of these narcotic drugs on multiple occasions, and the suspect Selimagić often stayed in Montenegro to monitor the narcotic drugs and their transport.

This operation has dealt a decisive blow to the structures of drug crime operating in the northwestern part of BiH, whose drug users are mostly young people from Bosanski Novi and surrounding areas.

Following the searches, the suspects will be handed over to the acting prosecutor, who will make a decision on further actions after questioning the suspects.