The STA reports on January 11, 2018, that a major stash of illegal weapons and ammunition was discovered inside a car from Bosnia at the Obrežje border crossing on 19 December. The police believe the weapons were destined for Western Europe.
Two modified guns, 18 automatic weapons, a hunting rifle, 37 cartridges and 689 bullets of various calibres were stashed below the lining at the bottom of the car, the head of crime investigators at the Novo Mesto police department, France Božičnik, told reporters on Thursday.
The 21-year-old driver, who is believed to have been part of a criminal ring, has been remanded in custody. Illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in arms carries from one to ten years in prison.
The police also seized the car, car documents and two mobile phones. The weapons, which preliminary inquiries indicate are A class and thus illegal, are believed to have been destined for Western Europe.
The investigation is ongoing, Božičnik said, adding that Bosnian police had apprehended a 32-year-old man who is believed to be linked to the weapons bust at the Slovenian-Croatian border crossing.
On Sunday, the Serbian press agency reported that police in the Bosnian town of Travnik arrested a 32-year-old local suspected of organising smuggling of weapons from Bosnia to Slovenia.
The police of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that through the arrest they had stopped the illicit trafficking operation, but that they were still looking for several suspects.
They said that they were continuing to cooperate with the Slovenian Interior Ministry to identify the persons involved and record the criminal acts.
Director of the Novo Mesto Financial Office Milan Kelher told reporters at Obrežje today that the weapons were discovered by members of one of their mobile units, who then notified the border police.
Senior criminal police inspector Robi Ribič said that this was a major weapons bust, and up to three similar busts a year are made at border crossings with Croatia.
The smuggled weapons come from former war areas in the Balkans and are of interest to criminal rings in Western Europe.
The purchase price of the weapons seized at Obrežje is estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 euros, while they could fetch up to ten times as much at the end buyer, said Ribič.
The incident comes a month after weapons were found hidden in chocolate and mayonnaise at the Gruškovje border crossing.
