LAKETA: POLICE STRUCTURES HAVE THE SITUATION WITH MIGRANTS UNDER CONTROL

SARAJEVO, JULY 31 /SRNA/ - Police structures in BiH have certain operational data on organized criminal groups of migrants, but they are in control of the situation and have brought migrations under control, the Director of the Service for Foreigners' Affairs Žarko Laketa told SRNA.

"These organized criminal groups continue to appear, not only in BiH, but they are also still present in Serbia, Montenegro, and our neighboring European countries, but they always operate and stay right on the border," Laketa pointed out, commenting on media reports that groups of armed migrants are wreaking havoc in Krajina and successfully evading police searches. Laketa added that the modus operandi of these criminal groups is linked to the internet and social networks, which police agencies are aware of, monitor, and carry out certain operational activities against. He recalled that during this year in the area of the Una-Sana Canton, the State Investigation and Protection Agency /SIPA/, the BiH Border Police, and the Federal Police Administration carried out operational-tactical measures and actions on several occasions, during which a certain number of migrants were processed. "Through those actions, they were handed over to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs and we placed them under supervision in our immigration center; many of them have left BiH, and some are awaiting court proceedings," stated Laketa, adding that the Service for Foreigners' Affairs has far fewer operational problems than in the previous year. Laketa also pointed out that the security situation regarding migrations, as far as BiH and the police agencies within it are concerned, is stable and there should be no deterioration in the coming period. "As for the security situation regarding migrations, we can say that it is stable and under control, which is also shown by the fact that this year there is a significantly smaller influx of migrants accommodated in BiH," Laketa said. According to him, only two temporary reception centers are active in BiH: Blažuj near Sarajevo, which accommodates 391 migrants, and the temporary reception center Lipa in the Una-Sana Canton, which currently holds 338 migrants. Laketa reminded that the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum came into force in the previous period, which increased border controls—a fact known to migrants, as well as to those involved in the organized smuggling of migrants to EU countries. "So far this year, only about 9,000 migrants who entered BiH have been registered, and the current figure of about 750 migrants shows that Europe has finally realized that migration is a serious problem for them as well, so there are certain activities that will yield results in the future," he stated. He added that despite various security developments around the world, there has been no increase in migration. "We expected this year that this would happen during better weather, because then they can move more easily, it's simpler and safer for them; however, it did not happen," concluded Laketa.