12 December 2013

At the request of an international prosecutor from the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office (SPRK), yesterday, the pre-trial international judge from the Prishtina/Priština Basic Court ordered one month detention on remand for five individuals suspected of Organised Crime and Smuggling of migrants.

On 10 December 2013, members of Kosovo Police Department of Organised Crime and the EULEX Police Organised Crime Investigation Unit, working under the direction of an International Prosecutor of the SPRK, and in co-operation with Europol and the Hungarian authorities, conducted joint operations, arrest and searches, in Skenderaj/Srbica and Rahovec/Orahovac regions. This was the culmination of a seven month investigation into the smuggling of migrants from Kosovo into Hungary, and further into the European Union. Five people were arrested, including a key organiser. Similar action has already been taken in Hungary.