USKOK Releases Expert Report on Waste in Gospić: Lika Is Contaminated
Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić confirmed that the 350-page findings are not favorable and that the public has a right to know the extent of the contamination.
Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić confirmed that the 350-page findings are not favorable and that the public has a right to know the extent of the contamination.
The Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) on Wednesday, August 6, 2026, released the results of an environmental expert assessment for the site of an industrial complex in Gospić. Due to significant public interest, access has been granted to the expert findings and opinion, as well as to the supplement to these findings, prepared by the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Zagreb.
This concerns a criminal case in which USKOK is conducting an investigation against multiple defendants suspected of having committed several environmental and economic crimes as members of a criminal association. USKOK emphasizes that the decision to allow access was made in accordance with Article 23, Paragraph 5 of the State Attorney's Office Rules of Procedure, which permits the disclosure of information from otherwise non-public proceedings when there is a justified public interest.
Just two days earlier, Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić, in an interview with RTL Danas with journalist Ivana Rožić, announced this move. He confirmed that the expert assessment has been completed and comprises approximately 300 pages of findings plus an additional 50 pages of supplement, totaling around 350 pages of material.
"The findings are not favorable, that much I can say. Lika is contaminated in that area. It's 300 pages of findings and another 50 pages of supplement, so about 350 pages of material in total," Turudić stated.
He also stressed that in this specific case, it is in the public interest to know the scope and extent of the contamination in Lika, which has also been requested by numerous associations.
The investigation focuses on the married couple Josip and Monika Šincek. They are suspected of organizing the import of ground plastic and other waste from Slovenia and Italy between 2022 and 2024. The waste was then stored at multiple locations, including the industrial complex at Bilajska Street 50 in Gospić, where tens of thousands of tons of material were found.
With the release of the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering's expert report, the public now has the opportunity to see firsthand the extent of the environmental damage that, according to the Chief State Attorney, has affected the Lika region.
