A joint action of the Croatian border police and customs officers at the Stara Gradiska border crossing found and confiscated paleontological material of inestimable museum value, which a Slovenian citizen tried to smuggle from Bugojno.
These are fossils from the geological period of the Middle Miocene, approximately 15 million years ago, it was pointed out at today’s press conference at the Stara Gradiska Border Police Station.
Filip Valentic, the assistant chief for border control of that station, said that in the evening of April 17, 82 pieces of fossils of animal origin were found in a passenger vehicle with Slovenian registration plates at that border crossing.
The vehicle was driven by a Slovenian citizen born in 1975. Drazen Japundzic,
“Insight into the seized material concluded that it was a very valuable fossil material from the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, most likely from the Gracanica site near Bugojno. These are the remains of fossil bones of large terrestrial mammals from the Miocene period: protozoa that lived at that time, rhinos, fossils of cattle, horses, deer, amphibians, and it will be seen what else is in the exceptional material, “said Japundzic.
The Croatian Museum of Natural History in Zagreb will take over the fossil material due to the temporary storage, preservation
After the experts of the Natural History Museum give the final finding and opinion on what it is about, and it is probably smuggling, the police officers, in cooperation with the State Attorney’s Office, will initiate responsibility against the Slovenian citizen, Capital
