In 2026, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton focused on the fight against drug abuse by suppressing the illegal cultivation and production of narcotic drugs, through confiscation of IN DOOR laboratories for drug production that were located on the territory of the city. In the first eight months, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton seized 17 laboratories with full equipment, the total value of which is around one million convertible marks. In these laboratories, around 2,000 stems of marijuana were seized, as well as significant quantities of the already prepared intoxicating drug, ready for street sale.
This is the result of the continuous implementation of the Strategy against drug abuse in Sarajevo Canton, adopted by the KS Government for the period 2024-2028. The implementation of the Strategy is supervised and initiated by the Supervision Team, which analyzed the reports of the MUP of Sarajevo Canton and praised the results achieved in suppressing drug production in Sarajevo. Team President Emir Bašić reminded that every three months the Team submits reports to the KS Government on the measures that have been implemented, and that significant results have been achieved this year as well.
“The MUP of Sarajevo Canton regularly implements the measures it is in charge of, and according to reports, we see that they dealt a serious blow to the illegal production of drugs in Sarajevo by confiscating as many as 17 laboratories,” Bašić said.
“All praise to the Police Directorate and the Police Commissioner because their activities in Sarajevo revealed and stopped the practice of renting villas and apartments in the city, one or two years in advance, and turning them into IN DOOR laboratories where the intoxicating drug marijuana is grown and produced, and then sent for street sale. In addition to illegal marijuana cultivation, cases of psilocybin or crazy mushrooms were also recorded, which were also confiscated,” Bašić added. These activities are a direct result of the strategic measure “Suppression of illegal cultivation and production of natural and synthetic narcotic drugs”.
The confiscated laboratories were equipped with expensive equipment, the value of which ranges from 50,000 KM upwards, and includes expensive systems of lighting, irrigation, filtering, drying, propagation, repacking, etc. All confiscated equipment will serve as evidence in further proceedings.
In addition to the confiscated laboratories, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton achieved significant results in the implementation of the measure “Ensuring accessible methods of drug testing of road users and increasing the number of this type of testing”.
“It is particularly encouraging that, thanks to amendments to the Law on the Basics of Road Traffic Safety in BiH, the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs has begun fully implementing the measure of testing drivers for the presence of drugs in their systems, and that, due to the prescribed sanction, there are no longer any refusals to undergo testing. This is the most effective way to remove drug-impaired drivers from traffic and thus save lives,” added Bašić.
