Four Suspected of Arson Near Benkovac, Arrested After Tip-Off from Citizens
On Friday evening, citizens noticed suspicious behavior by four individuals in the wider Benkovac area, and police quickly located and arrested them.
On Friday evening, citizens noticed suspicious behavior by four individuals in the wider Benkovac area, and police quickly located and arrested them.
Four individuals are under investigation by the Zadar police on suspicion of starting fires in the Zadar region. They were arrested on Friday evening following a tip-off from citizens about suspicious behavior in the wider Benkovac area, the Zadar Police Department reported, as carried by Večernji list.
It all began on Friday after 8 PM when citizens reported suspicious behavior by four individuals to the police. Officers conducted a thorough field operation and quickly found and stopped a vehicle linked to the report. The four individuals were then arrested and taken to the official premises of the Zadar Police Department.
A married couple noticed the arrestees as they were starting a fire. "We were driving towards Škabrnja. It was dark and we saw a small flame. I stopped instinctively, and my husband put it out with a bottle of water," recounted the woman who witnessed the arson. After seeing what was happening, they immediately contacted the police.
Sources disagree on the nationality and citizenship of those arrested. According to unconfirmed reports from Net.hr, three are Croatian citizens of Serbian ethnicity, and one person is a foreign national. On the other hand, HRT reports that all those detained are Croatian citizens and local residents from villages in the Benkovac area, including one woman.
Reports also differ on the location where the couple spotted the arrestees: Zagreb.info mentions Raštević near Benkovac, while Narod.hr cites Raštane.
For directly causing a fire, a fine ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 euros or imprisonment of up to 60 days is prescribed. If the fire caused significant material damage or endangered human lives, the prison sentence can reach up to 15 years.
The police have not yet released the identities, ages, or citizenship of those detained, nor have they confirmed which specific fires they are suspected of being linked to. They are also investigating the possibility that the four detainees are connected to several fires that have broken out in the Zadar region in recent days, where firefighters have had their hands full. More details will be available once the police complete their criminal investigation.
