Il Piccolo Says Loncaric's Extradition Could Influence Slovenia's Membership in the EU

Trieste, 5 December - The Trieste district prosecutor's office commissioned to prosecute mafia has drawn up a request for the extradition of Josip Loncaric, the alleged chief of an international criminal ring that was involved in smuggling illegal immigrants across Slovenia into Italy. The request for extradition is currently in the prosecutor's office of the Court of Appeals and is to be passed on to Slovenia's government by the Ministry of Justice, according to a report published in a Trieste daily on Tuesday. Il Piccolo quotes "some international observers" who believe that the decision to hand over Loncaric could influence Slovenia's accession to the EU.