The Theft Highlighted System Issues and Triggered Changes at the Top of the Police

The Minister of the Interior, Vlaho Orepić, stated on Tuesday that the break-in at the headquarters of the Zagreb Criminal Police, which led to the resignation of Police Director Vlado Dominić and Zagreb Police Chief Goran Burušić, indicates problems in the system and the responsibility of politicians from the previous administration.

– What happened should not have happened. The break-in points to problems in the system that I lead. In that spirit, it is one more argument to proceed with the reorganization we announced, even faster than we thought, Orepić told reporters at the Ministry of the Interior headquarters.

He added that greater responsibility than those who left their positions with personal consent should lie with the politicians who previously led this system. The minister did not wish to clarify who he was specifically referring to, the media reported.

Reorganization of the Ministry of the Interior ‘in the service of the people’

Due to the break-in at the Zagreb Criminal Police headquarters, along with Dominić and Burušić, the head of the Criminal Police Sector of the Zagreb Police Administration, Danijel Žugel, and the head of the Internal Control Service, Stjepan Jurenec, also resigned from their positions.

At the same time, the Zagreb Chief of the Organized Crime Sector, Željko Dolački, was removed from his position, as the broken safe was found in his office. Regarding Dolački, who was removed from duty unlike the others, the minister stated that a disciplinary procedure against him is also possible. Orepić said that he is not at all discouraged by the unusual break-in, but that it is an even greater argument for him to continue on the path he has started.

– From all political structures and politicians individually, I expect a responsible approach, and from the public, I expect support to complete the reorganization of the Ministry of the Interior so that it serves the people.

As the media reports, he did not want to comment on the criticisms from the HSP dr. Ante Starčević, which state that the responsibility for the break-in lies with all those in power from the Prime Minister to the Minister of the Interior, as they have left old and incompetent personnel in the police for too long due to slow staffing.

A series of internal controls to follow

He also announced that a series of internal controls will be conducted throughout the police system to verify data such as the recent disappearance of a machine gun from the Ogulin police station, the media writes.

Due to the ongoing investigation, Orepić did not want to speak about any details of the break-in, adding only that “not everything is as it has been said so far” and that there will “probably be new moments” in the case.

In the absence of official information, the media attempted to clarify the circumstances under which the break-in occurred at the Zagreb Criminal Police headquarters, from which two kilograms of gold and 280 thousand euros were stolen. Some theories even went so far as to suggest that the robbery was not carried out at all or that the entire case was staged as a pretext for changes at the top of the police.