[ad_1]
Hundreds of euros are suspected to have been taken as bribes by citizens of Kosovo and Albania, police and customs officers who were arrested on Monday (March 14th) in the municipalities of Gjakova and Prizren.
The Basic Court in Prishtina has remanded in custody 25 defendants – police and customs officers – who are suspected of “taking bribes” and “abusing their official position or authority”.
The Special Prosecution of Kosovo has asked the Court to impose a one-month detention measure on 50 police and customs officers detained on 14 March.
The decision on the rest will be made on Wednesday, March 16th.
The lawyer of one of the defendants, Agon Rrecaj, has considered the request for detention on remand as unfounded, because according to him, the Prosecution has not provided any evidence or other evidence to prove the existence of any of the special conditions for detention.
“Keep in mind that the Prosecution, as a reason for imposing this measure, considers the risk of repetition of the criminal offense, while in fact all police officers are already suspended from work, so how is it possible for them to repeat the offenses criminal when they are suspended from work, including my own client? “As far as the evidence possessed by the Prosecution is concerned, it remains for them to be evaluated in the further stages of the procedure”, said lawyer Rrecaj for Radio Free Europe.
His client, police officer A.TH, is suspected of committing criminal offenses: participating in and organizing an organized criminal group, abusing his official position or authority, and taking bribes.
He is suspected of taking bribes in order to enable different citizens to cross the border illegally.
According to the request for detention, it is stated that the defendants, in the capacity of police and customs officers, from February to December 2021, at the border crossing Qafë Prush (border crossing with Albania), acting in a manner organized or even individually, for the purpose of material gain for themselves and others, have abused their official position by accepting bribes from the citizens of Kosovo and Albania, enabling them to enter the territory of Kosovo by evading customs tariffs.
According to the request for detention of police officers and customs officers at the Qafë Prush border crossing, provided by Radio Free Europe, cases when police officers were “rewarded” with 20 or 50 euros each were frequent. But, there were also cases when police officers received from 100 euros up to 400 euros.
All this to allow the smuggling of narcotics and various goods. Border police also received money to allow citizens to enter Kosovo in violation of measures imposed by the Government to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Below you can read some parts of the charges which weigh on the 24 defendants:
Bribery at the point of “Qafë Prushit”
“Is there any coffee?”
This question was asked to the citizens of Albania and Kosovo during the last year, who passed through the border point in Qafë Prush in the Municipality of Gjakova.
On December 18 last year, one of the arrested police officers, with the initials UM, is suspected of asking a citizen: “Is there any coffee or anything for these men or not?”.
The driver of a small green truck had accepted the request of the police and allegedly gave it to the police officers.
Two months earlier, on August 28 after 19:00, a black car had stopped at the cabin where police officer A.TH was staying, and had told him “you have them in the booklet”, where he is suspected to have left 300 euro.
A few minutes later, another “Ford” type car arrived, gray in color, which passed quickly without being checked at all.
It was not long before a white van was stopped at the same border crossing point, suspected of transporting 500 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
It is suspected that the driver had given 100 euros to the three police officers who were on duty.
According to the detention request, on October 15, 2021, the now suspected police officers, SH and AP, had received 400 euros from a citizen, in order to allow the introduction of some elevator equipment in Kosovo.
According to the Prosecution, a resident of the village of Runik in the Municipality of Skenderaj, to introduce 10 boxes of mushrooms in Kosovo, is suspected of giving money to the border police officer A.TH, while he was in the cabin for passport control. He took the money with his right hand and then registered the citizen and allowed him to enter Kosovo without being subject to customs procedures.
For a few hours, over 200 euros bribe
One of the arrested police officers, with the initials BK, within a day – while he was in the night shift – had taken over 200 euros in bribes.
On October 17 last year, he had started the day taking a 20 euro bribe.
Later, by allowing the smuggling of mushrooms, he had received another 100 euros.
After 21:00, allowing the smuggling of mushrooms, police officer BK, had received 105 euros from an Albanian citizen, and shared them with colleagues S.ZH and MB
According to the Prosecution, another police officer had received 10 euros from a citizen, who was transporting shampoo, phone case, phone charger, etc.
With only 1.5 euros, the citizen from Albania, AC, had convinced the border police to enter Kosovo freely, after they had asked him for something to drink or eat.
The arrested police officers had several times received money by acting contrary to the conditions for entering Kosovo, according to the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
On December 8, 2021, a Kosovo citizen had given 200 euros to border police for smuggling goods suspected of being masks and technological equipment.
Meanwhile, the Special Prosecution has announced that the investigation in this case was launched a year ago against 68 people and some people are still on the run, including Albanian citizens.
Among those arrested, according to the PIK, are two police lieutenants, five sergeants and two customs officials.
This PIK operation, according to the authorities, is also supported by the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, Kosovo Customs and Kosovo Police.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
