A police operation targeting organized crime, led by the Special Prosecution Office and the Directorate for the Investigation of Serious Crimes and Organized Crime of the Kosovo Police, with the assistance of Kosovo Customs and the Tax Administration of Kosovo, has resulted in the arrest of nine persons.
Pursuant to an order of the Basic Court in Prishtina, searches were conducted at 21 locations.
During the execution of the search warrant, the following items were found and seized:
- EUR 15,000;
- 5 vehicles;
- 5 tanker trucks used for the transport of petroleum products;
- 2 firearms;
- 54 rounds of ammunition;
- EUR 301 in two-euro coins suspected of being counterfeit;
- Electronic equipment;
- Various documents and other evidence relevant to the case.
Relevant units of the Kosovo Police, Kosovo Customs and the TAK took part in this police operation.
The joint investigations led to the arrest of F.M., F.M., M.M., S.K., N.B., D.M., A.M., N.M., and G.Q., who are suspected of having committed the following criminal offenses:
- Money laundering;
- Smuggling of goods in co-perpetration;
- Participation in or organization of an organized criminal group;
- False tax-related documents; and
- Tax evasion.
This operation was conducted as part of procedural investigative actions. Following the collection of information and the securing of evidence, reasonable suspicion was established that the arrested persons operated as a structured criminal group by submitting false tax-related documents and carrying out fictitious sales and transactions involving petroleum products.
