Four arrested as police crack down on human smuggling ring in operation Vertigo 2

The suspects, identified by their initials M.P., A.K., z.K., and D.c., are suspected of committing the criminal offences of "Smuggling of Persons" and "Organising a Group or Association for the Execution of Criminal Offences of Migrant Smuggling" under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Operation "Vertigo 2" stems from a months-long investigation conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The operation involved inter-police cooperation and information exchanges with Europol, as well as law enforcement agencies across Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska, the arrested individuals are suspected of operating within an organised criminal group active in Bosnia between September last year and September this year. The network smuggled illegal migrants by concealing them inside the cargo compartments of commercial lorries alongside legally transported goods. They subsequently moved them illegally across the border into Croatia and further into European Union member states, with Italy as the final destination.

During the investigation, authorities intercepted and prevented the smuggling of 95 migrants, citizens of China, Turkey, and Iran, into European Union countries.

Acting on warrants issued by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, police conducted multiple searches across the Prijedor and Novi Grad areas, temporarily seizing items that will serve as evidence in subsequent legal proceedings.