Bosnian police have arrested five youngsters in Sarajevo suspected of sending dozens of hoax bomb threats, which have disrupted schools, courts and shopping malls and inflicted significant public costs.
Police in Sarajevo. Photo: Interior Ministry of Sarajevo Canton.
Police in Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo over the past three days have arrested five minors on suspicion of sending hoax bomb alerts to schools by email.
Out of the five, the Prosecutor’s Office of Sarajevo Canton has sought a month’s detention for one of them. A court in Sarajevo was due to make a decision on Thursday, but was evacuated that morning, also due to a bomb alert.
Besides the court, similar warnings were sent to several schools.
“The minor is suspected of sending 49 bomb alerts over 11 days prior to his arrest on Monday,” Azra Bavcic, Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson, told BIRN.
“Two others are currently in prosecution and we are waiting to see what the prosecutors will propose to the court,” Bavcic added.
Two of the minors arrested on Wednesday are undergoing criminal processing. All five are suspected of endangering safety in connection with the crime of false reporting. Despite being treated as minors, depending on their age, they face potential prison terms of six months to three years.
In recent weeks, Sarajevo police have been occupied with checking dozens of schools that have received threatening emails. In every case, the threats proved false.
However, the threats meant that the schools had to be evacuated, while parents had to leave their workplaces to pick up their children. Every intervention implies significant costs to the public budget, as they activate emergency services. Some schools have decided to switch to online classes due to the increased number of bomb reports.
Besides schools, the three biggest shopping malls in the capital, Sarajevo Airport and the country’s presidency building also had to be evacuated due to hoax bomb alerts.
The armed forces have tightened security at military objects and barracks after receiving a report of a potential terrorist attack. That email address was traced back to Bulgaria. The investigation is currently undergoing.