The judge for the pre-trial proceeding at the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica accepted the proposal to take eight members of an organised crime group, including one of the leading representatives of the police corps in Piešťany, into custody. The group is charged with several crimes, including blackmail, robbery, insurance fraud, possession of illegal firearms and violating the domicile. The police officer is also accused of violating the powers of a public official the SITA newswire reported on July 5.
The members of the organised group are reported to have been active in western and central Slovakia. According to the charges, they were requiring receivables from several businesspeople. They began engaging in criminal activity in 2010, SITA wrote.
Twelve people were detained after the National Criminal Agency conducted a raid on July 2 in several towns in Slovakia, including Piešťany, Trnava, Hlohovec, Martin, Trenčín and Veľký Krtíš. If found guilty, the group members could spend from five to 10 years in prison.
The decision to keep the members in custody is not yet valid as the prosecutor of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, as well as the accused persons, have challenged it with the Supreme Court, SITA reported.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
