SMUGGLING OF HUMANS ON INCREASE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

SARAJEVO, May 31 (Hina) - Four Iranians who this last weekend drowned in the Sava River while trying to illegally enter Croatia from Bosnia-Herzegovina are the victims of organised smuggling of humans, a problem which the international police force (IPTF) in Bosnia-Herzegovina has been pointing to for some time, Douglas Coffman, spokesman for the U.N. Mission, said in Sarajevo on Wednesday. IPTF members carried out an investigation into the case after the Bosnian Serb police reported on Sunday that the bodies of four Iranian nationals had been discovered near Kobas na Savi. The IPTF established that the immigrants had arrived in Sarajevo in a group of some thirty Iranians on May 24 on a regular flight from Istanbul. None of them had visas for the third countries or hotel bookings on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina but were nevertheless allowed by police officers at Sarajevo airport to enter the country. The next day the Iranians attempted to enter Croatia by crossing the Sava River and their final destination was reportedly Italy. Recalling that Bosnian and Croatian police forces have over the past months arrested a large number of Chinese, Iranian, Afghan, and other foreign nationals who attempted to illegally cross the border, Coffman said this was obviously a well-organised business in which persons from the two entities cooperated very well. The only solution for this situation is an equally good cooperation between the police forces of the two entities and the establishment of a border service, Coffman said. One of the surviving Iranians told reporters in Sarajevo that he and his fellow passengers were the victims of a smooth-running chain of smugglers. The fact that there is no visa regime between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran has contributed to making Sarajevo an important transit point for Iranians wishing to reach the West. The Iranian, who refused to reveal his identity and did not want to be photographed, told reporters at the Iranian embassy the transfer was organised by a Mustafa Imami, called Haji Hasan. "That man, who is trading humans, is known in Istanbul, London, and other cities," the witness said. According to him, members of the group, which also included women and children, had to pay between DM2,800 and 4,000 per person for the journey. Two men were waiting for the Iranians at Sarajevo airport and they transported them to the Sava River, where allegedly two unidentified persons squeezed them into two small boats. However, one of the boats overturned and several persons disappeared in the water. The survivors returned to Doboj, where they turned themselves in to the local Serb police. They were later accommodated in a refugee camp near Sarajevo. The Bosnian Serb police said they were still searching for the bodies of four missing immigrants. The survivors were given the opportunity to choose between returning to Iran or seek some other solution. The control of border crossings at Sarajevo airport should be taken over by members of the state border service as of June 1. It is expected that the country's 12 border crossings will be put under control of this service which was established with the aim of stopping the smuggling of humans and immigration. (hina) rml