Banja Luka, March 27, 2014 – Under the auspices of the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC), over 45 experts from SELEC Member States – Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hellenic Republic, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Republic of Serbia and Republic of Turkey, and also partners – EUBAM, EUROPOL, IAATI-EB, Kingdom of Spain and USA, gathered today in Banja Luka for the 11th Meeting of the Stolen Vehicles Task Force. The event is hosted by the Republic of Srpska Ministry of Interior, one of the law enforcement authorities from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The meeting is a good opportunity for the participating countries to present the national situation on the current vehicles crimes and related statistics – new trends and challenges, recent investigations and best practices examples, as well as to make proposals for future activities.
In the opening of the meeting, Mr. Cristian Duta, Director for Operations of SELEC, addressed many thanks to Bosnia and Herzegovina for hosting the meeting, as well as to Hungary, which provides the coordination of this Task Force, mentioning that today meeting is part of a series of annual events organized by SELEC for combating trans-border criminality more effectively.
Mr. Duta underlined that SELEC will continue to upgrade its operational capabilities and to support the Member States in successfully conducting joint investigations and providing strategic analysis in order to reduce the criminal activity of stolen vehicles in Southeast Europe.
Mr. Radislav Jovicic, the Minister of Interior of Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed the pleasure of being the host of the 11th Meeting of Stolen Vehicles Task Force, stressing the importance of international police cooperation, as well as the role and significance of SELEC in providing a platform for that cooperation. The Minister also tackled the issue of stolen vehicles, expressing the pleasure to have noticed the decrease in the number of stolen vehicles in the country. He also emphasized that the Ministry stays dedicated to the future cooperation with SELEC in regard to this, and all other types of crime.
