Border Police Sector Police Officer Radenko Savić (55) from Nikšić is one of three people arrested on suspicion of smuggling migrants.
AC (40) from Pljevlja and NL (34), a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina with registered residence in Podgorica, were also arrested. Police are searching for Azerbaijani citizen AR (39).
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica ordered the detention of Savić and NL for up to 72 hours due to reasonable suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of illegal crossing of the state border and human smuggling, and the suspect Savić also committed the criminal offense of forging an official document.
"Suspect NL hired Azerbaijani citizens for the needs of his construction company and gave their passports to person AC, with whom he went to the Ilino Brdo border crossing, where the records were kept by an RS police officer, even though they were not present or crossing the border," said the Podgorica State Police.
The Police Department previously issued an official statement.
"After several months of proactive and intelligence-led operation codenamed 'Passports', officers of the Crime Prevention Sector - Department for Suppression of Criminal Offences of Human Trafficking, Smuggling of People and Illegal Migration, and the Border Police Sector - Department for Suppression of Cross-Border Crime, have, through the implementation of activities, discovered and dismantled a migrant smuggling network and deprived of liberty three persons while a fourth is being sought who were carrying out criminal activities on the territory of Montenegro. Members of the Mixed Operational Police Team for Dismantling Migrant Smuggling Networks discovered another network of migrant smugglers, which resulted in the filing of criminal charges against four persons, due to reasonable suspicion that they committed four criminal offences of illegal crossing of the state border and human smuggling. On that occasion, AC (40) from Pljevlja, NL (34) a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina with registered residence in Podgorica, and a police officer of the RS Border Police Sector (55) from Nikšić were deprived of liberty, while a fourth is being sought "The suspect, AR (39), a citizen of Azerbaijan, is being actively sought," the police said.
"The named persons are suspected of committing the aforementioned criminal offense by enabling Azerbaijani citizens to stay illegally, by taking passports from these persons, registering them in the database on crossing the state border, and verifying the passports with the stamp of the border crossing without the presence of the passport owner at the border crossing at the time of entering the data into the database, all for the purpose of obtaining unlawful financial gain. The identified perpetrators committed the criminal offense they are charged with in such a way that AR arranged for the needs of NL to employ foreign Azerbaijani citizens who were engaged as manual workers on construction sites, and it is further suspected that an RS police officer, in agreement with AC, abused his official position and enabled the stamping of border crossing stamps on passports, enabling them to stay in Montenegro for longer than 90 days. The mixed operational police team for dismantling networks of migrant smugglers, consisting of officers of the Police Directorate, during "Police intelligence and criminal investigations, in coordination with the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, collected information and evidence against two Montenegrin and two foreign citizens, which resulted in the dismantling of this smuggling network," they explained.
They say that the police operation codenamed "Passports" was carried out as part of planned activities for a strong strategic and operational response to the problem of migrant smuggling, which has been set as one of the key national priorities in the fight against crime.
"By dismantling the networks of migrant smugglers operating through our territory and the wider 'Balkan route', Montenegro is also contributing to overall common regional and European security, bearing in mind that the European Union requires candidate countries to meet strict criteria in the areas of the rule of law, security and border management, and thus the fight against illegal migration and human smuggling directly related to the negotiating chapters," the police added.
They point out that the special focus of the police team was on uncovering civil servants who, through their actions, enabled the implementation of these criminal activities, where the investigation included and brought to the prosecutor's attention a police officer engaged in border control at the Ilino Brdo Border Crossing Point.
"This action confirms the determination of the Police Directorate in combating human trafficking and corruption as one of the national priorities, by breaking up smuggling networks that threaten the security and legal order of the state, which clearly demonstrates commitment to European standards and values and strengthening trust in institutions," the statement reads.
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