Twenty people, including police officers, were arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday on suspicion of corruption and involvement in organized crime, judicial sources confirmed.
The Una-Sana County Prosecutor's Office announced that as part of Operation "Kocka", a number of people were arrested, including police officers and responsible persons of companies, due to reasonable suspicion that they committed criminal acts of abuse of position or authority, and receiving or giving gifts or other forms of benefit or trading in influence.
Local media additionally announced that in an operation coordinated by the police administration of the MUP of the Federation of BiH in the area of Sanski Most and Prijedor, persons suspected of accepting or giving bribes in order to cover up illegalities in the operation of the Kamengrad coal mine were detained.
As many as 17 of those arrested are police officers from the Una-Sana County Ministry of Interior, confirmed County Minister Adnan Habibija.
"This is a form of cleaning up the security system," said Habibija.
The Kamengrad coal mine near Sanski Most is operated by the company "Lager" from Posušje. The operation of this mine is controversial among the residents of Sanski Most due to the way the ore is exploited and its impact on the environment.
The owner of "Lager" is Milenko Bašić, against whom an investigation has been launched in Croatia on suspicion of corruption or bribery related to the construction of the Krš-Pađene wind farm.
"Lager" is a regional leader in the sale and servicing of construction machinery and mining equipment, and for years it has been known as a company that regularly wins lucrative contracts with "Elektroprivreda BiH".
"Lager" has had a concession for the exploration and exploitation of brown coal in Kamengrad since 2015, and the company has rejected complaints about its operations, claiming that it has complied with all legal requirements related to coal exploitation, including environmental permits. They stated that they have invested tens of millions of KM in the revitalization of the Kamengrad mine and created around 600 jobs.
Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT
