The Police Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tuzla Canton presented the first official findings of the investigation into yesterday’s armed robbery in Kalesija to journalists at a conference on Thursday. A robbery of a jewelry store turned into a shootout with the police, a dramatic chase and the death of one of the suspects, which shocked the public throughout the region.
Video: Avaz.ba
Early yesterday morning, three robbers broke into a jewelry store in the center of Kalesija and tied up the owner. Two were masked, while one had an exposed face.
According to the Director of the Police Administration, Dževad Korman, they were armed with an automatic rifle and a pistol, and they took out of the store bags containing stolen jewelry, the total value of which has not yet been determined.
When leaving the store, they spotted police officers who were nearby and immediately opened fire. The policemen retaliated, after which the two robbers ran into a Golf 5 vehicle, where a third accomplice was waiting for them – also without a mask. During their escape through Kalesija, they continued to shoot at the police.
– At that moment, the police officers removed the danger to their own lives and the lives of citizens who happened to be nearby – Korman said, stressing that intensive and extremely effective cooperation with the police of Republika Srpska was established at the same time.
In the forest part of Jelova Brdo, not long after that, a burning Golf and the lifeless body of one of the robbers, who were thrown out of the vehicle by his accomplices during the escape, were found. Operational data indicate that it is Matija Gordeljević (1980) from Zvornik. Part of the stolen gold and silver jewelry was found on the spot.
Further searches of the area, from Jelova Brdo towards the Vrelo settlement in Osmaci municipality, found additional quantities of jewelry, which are believed to have been lost by the perpetrators while fleeing. Police officers from Republika Srpska also conducted investigations in their area.
Korman confirmed that the policemen, by examining hunting cameras in the forest area, identified another possible participant in the robbery, while the second suspect is still being intensively searched for. The Zvornik police department detained several persons who could be related to the crime and they were handed over to the MUP of the TK for further processing.
– All the persons connected with this event are already known to us. These are extremely dangerous and criminally active persons, ready to use firearms against the police – Korman said.
It was also established that the Golf vehicle, in which the robbers escaped, was stolen on November 15 in the morning hours in Tuzla. The burned remains of the car were transported for expert examination, and the body of Matija Gordeljević was transferred to the Tuzla Memorial Center for an autopsy.
The Unit for Professional Standards is involved in all activities, which carries out the procedure for determining the justification of the use of lethal force in the exchange of fire.
The investigation continues, and a number of serious crimes are documented, including robbery, assault on an official and causing public danger. The search for the remaining suspects is still ongoing.
(TYPE/Source: Fena/Author: Edin Skokić/Photo: Fena)
