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Police arrest 15 customs officers for misappropriating over €5m from budget
Belgrade,
22 December 2006
The Serbian Ministry of Interior stated today that the police have successfully completed the second stage of investigation to uncover and detain the organised crime group of customs officers suspected of forging documents and concealing information regarding the exit of trucks from Serbia to Republika Srpska at border crossings Sremska Raca, Badovinci and Mali Zvornik.
The statement adds that early this morning at 4:30 am the police began the operation in Belgrade, Ljubovija, Pancevo, Sremski Karlovci, Arandjelovac, Grocka and Indjija and specialised police units arrested 15 customs officers.
The police suspects that the detained customs officers are members of a criminal group and that they have misappropriated around €5 million from the state budget. The suspects recorded that over 150 large freight trucks fictitiously exited Serbia, whereas the goods in fact remained in the country and were afterwards sold in the black market. Thus the customs and tax fees were not paid and the state lost a huge amount of money.
Organisers of this criminal group were arrested during a previous operation on November 28 as well as the first group of customs officers, adds the statement.
The police suspects that the detained customs officers are members of a criminal group and that they have misappropriated around €5 million from the state budget. The suspects recorded that over 150 large freight trucks fictitiously exited Serbia, whereas the goods in fact remained in the country and were afterwards sold in the black market. Thus the customs and tax fees were not paid and the state lost a huge amount of money.
Organisers of this criminal group were arrested during a previous operation on November 28 as well as the first group of customs officers, adds the statement.
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