The Prosecutor's Office in Serbia ordered an investigation against Arven Balerija, suspected of terrorism

The prosecutor for organized crime issued an order to conduct an investigation against Arven Balerija, (previous name Rafet Hoxha), born in Podujevo, who was arrested yesterday in Bujanovac on suspicion of having committed the crime of terrorism, RTV reports.

The Prosecutor's Office states in the statement that the investigation is being conducted due to the existence of a well-founded suspicion that Balerija committed the criminal offense of conspiring to commit criminal offenses under Art. 346 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code and the criminal offense of illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons and explosive substances.

According to reports, Balerija, who is a citizen of Serbia, organized a criminal group, the members of which are, for the time being, several unidentified persons from Serbia and other neighboring countries. In the period from the beginning of the year to December 27, he organized the procurement of a large amount of firearms, ammunition, explosive materials and mine-explosive devices, which he, together with other unidentified members of an organized criminal group, transported in vehicles prepared in advance.

 Members of the group stored weapons in hidden locations, and then the suspect Balerija would find buyers, and members of this organized criminal group transported some of the weapons to buyers in the central part of Serbia and Kosovo, as well as to countries in the region and Western Europe, for their sale.

Suspect Arven Balerija, after a prior agreement with yet unidentified buyers, on December 27, 2022, together with other suspects, from an unknown location on the territory of Serbia in the morning hours, took over large quantities of firearms, ammunition, explosives and mill-explosives, packed them in a large black bag and transported to the Bujanovac area according to a pre-prepared plan, with the intention of handing it over to unknown buyers.

He placed the bag in the trunk of a "BMW" motor vehicle in Bujanovac, which was brought on the same day by an unknown group member with the intention of handing it over to the unknown buyers at an opportune moment, which was prevented by depriving Balerija of his freedom.

In the trunk were found eight automatic rifles, one small-caliber rifle with optics and a silencer, an automatic pistol "Scorpion" with a silencer, twelve frames for automatic rifles, one trombone attachment for an automatic rifle, three bodies of M 75 bombs, black in color, three lighters with a spoon and fuse for bombs M 75 and 272 pieces of ammunition of different caliber.

After the hearing, the prosecutor for organized crime proposed to the judge for preliminary proceedings of the Special Department for Organized Crime of the High Court in Belgrade that Balerija be ordered into custody.

Members of the Security and Information Agency, Crime Investigations Police Directorate and the Counter-Organized Crime Service (COCS) of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, on the order of the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, in a coordinated action, arrested AB, of Albanian nationality, yesterday in Bujanovac.