STA, 2 September 2020 - Acting upon instructions from Interior Ministry State Secretary Franc Kangler, the General Police Administration has announced an investigation into alleged illegal conduct in the National Bureau of Investigation's (NBI) cracking of a suspected prostitution ring in Nova Gorica in January 2019.
While the Specialised State Prosecution filed in mid-2019 an indictment against 18 persons in connection with the ring that was operating in the Marina Sauna club near Nova Gorica, the Koper District Court has excluded several pieces of evidence suspected to have been obtained illegally.
Kangler, a former police officer and ex-Maribor mayor who has had several cases against him dropped over faulty police work, confirmed on Tuesday he had written to acting Police Commissioner Andrej Jurič about the court decision and asked him to take action.
Kangler said the NBI, which worked on the case for several years, had forged documents, conducted house searches without warrants, monitored and photographed the lawyers of the defendants and illegally violated privacy.
Photos Facebook
While POP TV reported that the prosecution has appealed against the exclusion of the evidence, Kangler rejected he was interfering in cases that are open in court. He said he had written to the police, whose investigation of the Marina case was closed, and not to the prosecution or court.
Kangler moreover rejected interpretations he was interfering because one of the suspects was his acquaintance, arguing his motive was merely to come to the bottom of the illegal actions of the criminal police.
"The most high-profile case in recent years is in danger of falling through because of illegal work on the part of the NBI," said Kangler, whose letter to Jurič came in the wake of a request for a police review of several more high-profile NBI cases on the part of Interior Minister Aleš Hojs.
Sergej Racman Wanted for Sex Trafficking Arrested in Canada
The General Police Administration said today that Kangler had forwarded to them a complaint filed by a citizen over alleged NBI irregularities in the investigation of the Marina club.
Announcing an internal security procedure and potential follow-up actions, the police said that Kangler's demand for a report shows that the matter is exclusively about establishing potential systemic irregularities.
The police added Kangler feels there is reason to suspect that certain NBI investigators committed acts that are prosecuted ex officio. "This is why he expects that we notify the Specialised State Prosecution," the General Police Administration wrote.
All our stories on prostitution in Slovenia
