A criminal investigation revealed that the first vehicle was used to tip off about police patrols, while in the second car, whose driver fled into the woods, several foreign nationals were found.
Police officers from the Karlovac Police Department prevented another migrant smuggling operation in Croatia on Saturday, August 8. Four suspects were arrested in the operation, and the tactic they used to evade police surveillance was uncovered.
According to a statement from the Karlovac police, in the morning hours, a passenger car with Slovenian license plates was first stopped. The driver was a 25-year-old citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accompanied by passengers aged 20 and 23. The criminal investigation showed that this vehicle was not carrying migrants but served as a 'scout car'.
Their task was to monitor the roads and report on the movement of police patrols so that the main vehicle carrying illegal migrants could pass unimpeded. This method points to a sophisticated smuggling network.
Immediately after stopping the 'scout car', police intercepted a second car, also with Slovenian plates. In that vehicle, foreign nationals who had illegally crossed the Croatian border were found. The driver of the second car, however, did not surrender-he seized the moment and fled into a nearby forest.
The search did not last long. Later that day, in the jurisdiction of another police department, the fugitive driver was found. He was identified as an 18-year-old citizen of the Republic of Croatia.
During the processing of all transported foreign nationals, the police applied the provisions of the Aliens Act, as they had entered the country illegally. The four suspected smugglers underwent a criminal investigation on suspicion of committing a criminal offense under Article 326 of the Criminal Code, Illegal Entry, Movement, and Stay in the Republic of Croatia, another EU member state, or a Schengen Agreement signatory.
As reported by the Karlovac police, "it was established that the suspects, out of self-interest, for a pre-agreed sum of money, transported foreign nationals to their final destination." After the investigation was completed, all four suspects, aged 18, 20, 23, and 25, were handed over to the jail warden. Criminal charges were filed against them with the competent state attorney's office.
