Officers from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) arrested two suspects in the ‘Baron’ operation, conducted in Banja Luka and Novi Grad, in the western part of the country. Meanwhile, two more individuals were apprehended in Grude and Tomislavgrad in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the ‘Istok-Porin’ operation.
SIPA stated that ‘Baron’ targeted individuals suspected of smuggling approximately 100 migrants from China, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, and Cameroon from Bosnia to its EU neighbor, Croatia.
The other operation, ‘Istok-Porin’, similarly focused on alleged smugglers accused of trafficking dozens of migrants into EU countries.
During both operations, police conducted searches across multiple locations and seized items that could serve as crucial evidence in ongoing criminal investigations, according to SIPA.
According to a U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) report, 35,000 migrants traveled along the so-called Balkan route through Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, underscoring this pathway as a critical channel for illegal migration into Europe.
Earlier this year, Europol revealed that the Bosnia and Herzegovina-Croatia border had become the second most active hotspot for migrant smugglers in the Balkans in 2023. The EU law enforcement agency also warned of a significant surge in criminal activities along the Bosnia and Herzegovina-Croatia-Slovenia route expected in 2024.
In its latest report, Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) emphasized the primary challenges posed by the current criminal landscape and its aim to assist law enforcement in intensifying the fight against criminal networks “who not only rob individuals of their dignity but directly threaten peoples’ lives.”
Europol stressed that migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks are highly adaptive, exploiting geopolitical events such as economic and social crises to maximize their illicit profits.
It also warned that criminals are increasingly turning to social media platforms, mobile applications, and cryptocurrencies to offer illegal services, manage logistics and payments, and secure their profits.