Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the list of major countries in which financial institutions conduct transactions that include significant amounts of money originating from drug trafficking, according to this year's report of the US State Department, "Dnevni Avaz" has learned. Along with Albania, it is the only country from the region that is on the list of several dozen world countries that the US institutions recognize in that way, and the list includes mostly exotic offshore oases and only a few European countries.

Secure transit

For years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been established as a country of transit of narcotics and money laundering from the dirty trade in narcotics. Despite the fact that police institutions are fighting this scourge, there are no great results, and seizures of narcotics are rare and, for the most part, limited. And B&H is still considered in international circles as a country of "safe transit" for narcotics and a place where dirty money is laundered without major problems.

It is not excluded that the main cause of such situation may have been discovered by police officers from Sarajevo, who in their confessions for "Dnevni Avaz" stated the reasons why they were prevented from working.

Namely, six experienced inspectors from Sarajevo, most of whom worked for years on the most difficult cases of drug trafficking, were literally left without the opportunity to do their job overnight. They were issued a kind of "decree" that they can have access to classified information, based on the Law on Protection of Classified Information, which, in the first instance, is decided by the Intelligence and Security Agency of B&H.

In order to supervise such work in accordance with the law, a state Commission for Resolving Complaints in the Security Verification Procedure has been established. However, the problem arose when, according to the indictment of the Prosecutor's Office of B&H, in addition to legal procedures and conditions, Muriz Druškić, a leader from ISA, was installed in that commission, who in the case of six Sarajevo police officers was doing controversial security checks. The Prosecutor's Office of B&H initiated and concluded checks on the manner in which the disputed appointment was made in the Commission for Resolving Complaints in the Security Verification Procedure.

However, the shortcomings of this affair go much deeper, judging by the confessions of police officers, including Senad Muslim, Emir Efendić, Fikret Ibrica and Mirnes Hodžić. Namely, they claim that it is not only the problematic way in which a member of the state commission was appointed, but the motive for which they were removed that is much worse and more dangerous. The controversial appointment to the state commission, for which Mehmedagić and the state security minister of B&H Selmo Cikotić are accused before the Court of B&H, is just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the damaged police officers, they conducted serious investigations into drug trafficking and believe that they have reason to believe that they messed up someone's accounts, especially because they say that the investigations led to individuals from the top of the intelligence service.

Extensive investigation

- They were bothered by our investigations and the knowledge we came to about the individuals who are at the head of the security apparatus. Investigations are already underway. The organized crime and drug routes we discovered costed us our jobs - said Mirnes Hodžić, one of the police officers who faced sanctions because he was doing his job.

Indications for new investigations

The testimonies of experienced and proven police officers published by Dnevni Avaz are a serious and sufficient indication that a large and extensive investigation should be opened in any normal state to determine whether the top intelligence service really obstructed narcotics investigations, on whose orders and in whose interest it was done.

The "Security Check" affair is not just a matter of being appointed to a state commission, but it must open a much larger operation to fight organized and state-assisted crime, which is why we constantly end up on the black lists of international organizations and powerful states.

Korajlić: Check everything

Nedžad Korajlić, a security expert and professor at the Faculty of Criminal Sciences in Sarajevo, told "Avaz" that in this particular case, he cannot speak for six members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, but everything must be examined.

- Apart from the Ministry of the Interior of the Sarajevo Canton, the police agencies are also responsible for clarifying everything, from which the Ministry of the Interior of the Sarajevo Canton is asking for help to carry out inspections. Here, the Ministry of Interior of the Sarajevo Canton must say what the reason is, why they are deficient and what happened. In general, depending on the type of checks, everything must be seen. Checks for each official must be done properly, because these are sensitive data that can have negative consequences on the course of the investigation - says Korajlić.