We are a sort of filter for entry into the European Union via Debeli Brijeg, says the shift leader at the Sukobin border crossing, Hodo Ljuković.
Croats, he adds, are much calmer at their crossing when they find out that passengers traveling to EU countries were checked at Sukobin before them.
"Especially if they know that Astra was on shift," he says with a smile, pointing to the female Malinois Belgian shepherd, which is standing motionless by the leg of his colleague Rifat Ramusović.
Astra's life is insured for 20 euros, which is not particularly surprising, considering that she herself discovers up to 70 percent of smuggled narcotics. The luggage of passengers from the bus, earlier that day, was "checked" by the labrador Ara, so Astra was on a relaxed walk through the crossing with Ramusović.
"He only listens to Rifat, maybe one or two other colleagues, but not like him," says Ljuković.
The Sukobin-Murićani border crossing is twenty-seven kilometers from Ulcinj, 32 kilometers from Bar and only 13 kilometers from Shkodra. Last year, 2,37 million passengers and 612 thousand vehicles crossed it, which makes it the most frequented in Montenegro.
While we are witnessing the passenger control, Ljuković points out that the biggest problem of the crossing is the increased intensity of traffic.
"Now there are normal crowds for this time of year, there are problems on weekends and during the season," he says while about 20 cars are waiting in two lanes at the crossing to neighboring Albania. In shared facilities with colleagues from Albania, police officers politely receive documents and hurriedly carry out checks. The documents are then handed over to the border police of Albania, who return them to the passengers if everything is in order. The same is true in the opposite direction.
"We have never had major misunderstandings since the opening of the crossing in 2009. We solve every problem together," says Ljuković.
The crossing was officially opened in June 2009 by the prime ministers of the two countries, Milo Đukanović and Sali Beriša. The "difficult" project of 1,1 million euros was financed by the European Commission, and the crossing was designed for about half a million passengers. Already in the first five months of this year, close to 700 thousand passengers and about 200 thousand vehicles crossed the crossing, which is an increase of 23 and 21 percent compared to the same period last year. Preparations are underway for the reconstruction of the crossing, which will probably be designed for more than two million passengers starting next year...
The leader of the shift on the Albanian side of the Lika crossing, Albert, welcomes us kindly, even though he is in a crowd. When asked what kind of cooperation he has with his colleagues from Montenegro, he answers briefly: "Perfect".
"We are here together, we do not solve any problem without consulting with our Montenegrin colleagues", he says.
There is almost the same number of cars on the Albanian side waiting to enter Montenegro.
And the assistant commander of the Ulcinj border police station for the Sukobin border crossing Svetislav Filipović emphasizes the good cooperation with colleagues from Albania.
"Cooperation is good, constant and continuous for many years. It is reflected in the performance of joint controls prescribed by the protocol adopted by the Governments of both countries, but also in daily work and tasks related to the functioning of the border crossing and the suppression of smuggling", says Filipović in an interview with "Vijesti".
He adds that there were no serious incidents except for the cases when the police officers were forced to use coercive means - physical force and tying them.
" These cases are rare, maybe once or twice a year. "Those people are usually aggressive at first, but later they calm down when they see that the police officers acted in accordance with the law," says Filipović.
When stating that the border crossing has become a nightmare for people from Interpol and national warrants and smugglers of anything and everything, Filipović points out that behind such a reputation are the results achieved.
"Since the opening of the crossing, more than 850 kilograms of skunk and a certain amount of other drugs have been seized in over 120 cases, which we discovered with the help of dogs, but also individually with the help of technology. It is interesting that in 99 percent of cases the smugglers are Albanian citizens," says Filipović.
The police have at their disposal optical document readers, a multi warner or a CO2 "drager", a videoscope, a device for checking banknotes and travel documents, a hand-held device for measuring radioactivity, a hand-held metal detector, rules, docubox dragon-projektini, a douscan detector for explosives and narcotics. , OBD device...
The search for smugglers is very sophisticated, and our police officers have the quality help of their Albanian colleagues.
"They have a good electronic system that provides information on persons who are at the crossing for risk analysis - where they come from, whether they have been convicted or arrested for smuggling or forgery. Analyzes are performed daily, and based on them, an assessment is made of which persons should be searched in the room for that purpose," explains Filipović.
He says that everyone, young and old, men and women, is engaged in drug smuggling...
"We had a case where a married couple with a baby tried to smuggle narcotics. Or where smugglers tried to take advantage of the presence in the car of a disabled person. What can we say about the case when we discovered that two persons over 65 years old also attempted smuggling", says Filipović.
Especially interesting, he says, is the imagination of smugglers where to hide drugs in the car.
"Whether it's in the bumper, tire, underneath or inside, only they know. Of course, few of them still know that Astra, who rarely makes mistakes, is there besides us," Filipović points out the merits of the ten-year-old Malinois.
According to him, the drug is mainly intended for the markets of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Last year, 20 weapons, pistols intended for the German market, were discovered at the crossing on two occasions. Astra exposed a German citizen who headed to Germany with a certain number of guns from Kosovo. The dog smelled drugs in a bag in which the German, who was traveling by bus, was carrying a weapon.
"During the purchase of weapons, they gave the German a bag that had previously contained drugs. Astra did not miss that," he said.
Filipović also emphasizes good international cooperation in all fields.
"Then the German police handcuffed the person who was waiting for the weapon," recalls Filipović.
He adds that significant results are also being achieved in the detection of stolen cars and forged documents.
"We have top technique and really great results. People recognize that, so a high-ranking Kosovo official crossed the border just, as he said, to check whether the car he wanted to buy was legal or not," Filipović remembers. He states that some people only find out at the crossing that they bought a stolen car that was "removed from the insurance".
During the first six months of this year, 26 kilograms of narcotics were seized in nine seizures, mostly skank
"When it comes to travel documents, last year alone we discovered over 40 forged passports, identity cards, traffic and driver's licenses, as well as 15 forged numbers on the chassis of expensive vehicles. People try to change a picture, a page of a document or something similar, but that doesn't work here," asserts Filipović.
He adds that it is impossible to register all passengers in the electronic system, especially in the season when there are over 24 passengers at the crossing in 35 hours.
"Thus, in the summer months, the Police Directorate, through the Border Police Sector, makes a decision on a simplified procedure for crossing the state border, the so-called "selective control", when we assess which persons will be registered in the system and which will only be visually controlled. The quality of control certainly does not suffer. Our goal is to reduce waiting times to a minimum," emphasizes Filipović.
And as we leave, we observe the faces of people who are patiently waiting in their cars for their turn to be checked.
To the right of them are the dog boxes, where Astra is taking a well-deserved break. The question that just arises - how many in the column are restless because of her?
A woman tried to cross the border in the trunk of a taxi
During the first six months of this year, 26 kilograms of narcotics were seized in nine seizures, mostly skank, 50 entries and 19 exits were not approved, there were 3.876 detailed controls and 1.542 chassis inspections, seven forged documents were discovered, and three cases of forged numbers on vehicle chassis , official dogs had 1.500 narcotics controls, and 158 explosives controls, 28 persons were deprived of their freedom, nine of them on warrants.
One attempted illegal crossing was also recorded in January.
"It was a woman who was returned from the crossing in the evening due to non-fulfillment of conditions, i.e. incomplete documentation and visa regime. After half an hour at the crossing, we stopped a taxi with the same woman in its trunk. We sanctioned both her and the driver and handed them over to our colleagues from Albania," Filipović explained the unusual situation. He also emphasized that precisely because the crossing is well guarded, due to the quality staff, technique and well-trained dogs, there are not many attempts at illegal crossings.
Cooperation with the locals is a good story
When it comes to the so-called wild crossings, Filipović especially emphasizes the good cooperation with the residents of the border villages.
"Even when we are not on the ground, usually the locals inform us that they have seen one or more unknown persons, so that we can react in a timely manner. And that's a really good story from this crossing," says Filipović, stating that there is no place that stands out when it comes to illegal crossings. He states that it can be near Kravar, Stegvaš, near Lake Skadar, but also by Bojan or the sea.
"There we have help from the border police's bar station, and from the state level we have a mobile unit, also of the border police. For some time now, we have also had visiting police officers as part of an international operation, with whom we have joint controls at the crossing, but also along the entire border. So we are not alone, and there is also electronic surveillance," says Filipović.
They also register those who have not paid the residence tax
Last year, the control of temporary residence, which is carried out by inspectors for foreigners through the RB 90 system, came to life, which enables the timely collection of residence fees.
"It is an additional job for us, but we have quality cooperation with the Ulcinj Tourist Organization. It is our obligation to also use a selective method to control persons who stayed not only in Ulcinj but anywhere on the coast. We collect material data and forward them along with notes to inspectors for foreigners, who through the system can check where the person stayed, for how long and whether he paid the residence tax. If not, the inspectors act as a misdemeanor against the landlords," says Filipović about how the border police will work throughout the season to benefit the city budget.
Director of TO Fatmir Đeka announced that a point will soon be opened not far from the crossing where travelers will be able to register their residence immediately.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
