Prosecutor's Office of BiH requests detention for UIO BiH employee who smuggled hookah tobacco across the state border

(Patria) - After examining the suspects, the acting prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH submitted a motion to the Court of BiH to order detention for one person and prohibition measures for three suspects, in a case with corrupt elements, who were apprehended in an operation by SIPA, in cooperation with FUP, MUP RS, MUP KS and MUP TK, as well as UIO BiH, carried out in the areas of Sarajevo, Tuzla and Srebrenica.
  
Detention for suspect Katanić Danka, born in 1973 in Užice,
a citizen of BiH and the Republic of Serbia, employed as a customs officer at UIO BiH,
is proposed for reasons described in Article 132, Paragraph 1, points a), b) and c) of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, namely due to the risk of flight, as well as the risk that the suspect might obstruct the investigation, conceal evidence, influence witnesses or accomplices, or re-offend or complete the committed crime while at liberty.

In relation to suspects Elvir Ibrahimović, born in 1990 in Zvornik, a citizen of BiH, Alen Hukić, born in 1983 in Novi Pazar, a citizen of BiH and the Republic of Serbia, and Marko Marković, born in 1992 in Bajina Bašta, a citizen of BiH, prohibition measures have been proposed, in accordance with the law, which include a travel ban with the confiscation of travel documents and a ban on issuing new travel documents, as well as a ban on using identity cards to cross the state border of BiH, a ban on meeting with certain persons, and mandatory periodic reporting to a state authority.

Within the investigative and operational activities, information and evidence were collected that the suspects, as members of an organized crime group, acting jointly with clearly defined roles, from March to the beginning of October this year, with the intention of obtaining unlawful property gain, smuggled large quantities of excise goods (hookah tobacco) across the state border from the Republic of Serbia to BiH on dozens of occasions, and then stored and placed them on the market as undeclared goods in BiH. In this way, customs and tax obligations in the amount of 750,000 KM were avoided, which amount represents damage to the budget of BiH.

Suspect Katanić is accused of, as a public official of UIO BiH, employed as a customs officer at the Skelani Customs Office, using her official position and committing corrupt acts for agreed monetary amounts, participating in the smuggling and transportation of hookah tobacco across the state border.

The suspects are under investigation due to the existence of a well-founded suspicion that they have committed the criminal offense of organized crime from Article 250, in conjunction with the criminal offenses of illegal trade in excise products from Article 210a, illegal storage of goods from Article 210b, smuggling from Article 214, and suspect Danka Katanić also for the criminal offense of abuse of position or authority from Article 220 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

As part of the operational action PLUG, 3250 kg of excise goods (hookah tobacco), 509 kilograms of hookah charcoal, and a larger amount of money were temporarily seized.