The military police arrested two people on Thursday morning on orders from the Office of the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Croatia (Uskok), suspecting them of corrupt criminal offences. According to unofficial information relayed by Novi list, one of those detained is a brigadier who headed public procurement at the Ministry of Defence until the end of 2021.
Arrests and urgent evidentiary measures, including searches of homes and business premises, are being carried out by the Independent Sector for Military-Police Affairs of the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with the police administrations in Zagreb, Istria and Zadar. According to a statement from Uskok, the operations are taking place in the Zagreb area as well as in Istria and Zadar counties.
"These measures are being conducted in relation to two people against whom there are reasonable grounds to suspect they have committed corrupt criminal offences," the prosecutor's office stated, without providing details on the identities of the suspects or the specific charges against them.
According to Novi list, unofficial sources indicate that Brigadier Ivica Devčić has been arrested. Devčić was the head of the Independent Sector for Public Procurement Procedures at the Ministry of Defence until the end of 2021. From 1 January 2022, he was posted to the Directorate for Material Resources, and his transfer had previously attracted public attention due to claims of police investigations that the ministry never confirmed.
Following the completion of the searches, the suspects will be handed over to the detention supervisor and questioned at the headquarters of Uskok. The prosecutor's office will then decide whether to initiate an investigation and request pre-trial detention, having promised to inform the public in good time.
