Smederevo Police Arrest Two Romanians for Highway Thefts

The Smederevo Police Department has identified and arrested two Romanian nationals, V. R. (35) and B. C. M. (26), suspected of three aggravated thefts on the Belgrade-Nis highway. The victims were foreign nationals passing through Serbia in transit, Serbia’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the pair deliberately targeted travelers resting at parking areas and rest stops along the highway, taking advantage of their fatigue and inattention to steal bags containing cash and documents from their vehicles. Police suspect the two used a BMW with French plates, as well as a BMW and an Audi with British plates, to enter Serbia and travel the highway.

Three thefts in five weeks

The first theft is believed to have taken place on July 18. That night, at a motel parking lot, V. R. allegedly took 17,000 euros from a car with German plates.

A similar incident is said to have occurred at the same parking lot on August 14, when 9,000 euros disappeared from a car with Spanish plates.

The third case is dated August 23. Police suspect that on that day, V. R. and B. C. M. worked together at a gas station parking lot, taking 2,400 euros and gold jewelry from a van with German plates.

The three thefts add up to 28,400 euros and gold jewelry. Police recovered part of the loot, the 2,400 euros and jewelry taken in the last incident, and returned it to the victims. The statement did not say what happened to the money from the first two thefts.

Prosecutors seek pretrial detention

The suspects were brought before the Smederevo Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office, which asked the pre-trial judge to order up to 30 days of detention. The request cites grounds to suspect that V. R. and B. C. M. committed three aggravated thefts on the Belgrade-Nis highway against foreign nationals.

V. R. and B. C. M. are charged with aggravated theft, and under Serbian law they are presumed innocent until the proceedings are finally concluded.