Cruise Ship Security Officer Wanted For War Crimes & Genocide Arrested At Civitavecchia Port

Italian Police Officers went undercover to arrest a cruise ship security officer at Civitavecchia Port, accused of war crimes and genocide dating back to the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

58-year-old Milan Babic has been working on MSC Cruises ships for several years under a false identity.

He was taken into custody after his ships reached Civitavecchia after sailing from Genoa.

The operation was challenging, per Italian authorities. Babic had joined other crew members and was disembarking the vessel, but after becoming suspicious of the police presence, he fled back to the ship and hid near the engine room.

Police officers searched the ship, which they called a floating city, for more than three hours to find him.

According to investigators, Babic had evaded detection for years by changing his surname on official documents.

This move ultimately failed during routine checks by the Italian border police, who cross-referenced multiple versions of non-Italian names.

After ascertaining his real identity, with the help of the cruise company and matching past records, the officials decided to arrest him.

Italian police, citing documentation from Croatian authorities, said that he was a part of mass killings which also led to the displacement of thousands of civilians.

He was also wanted by the Serbian government for murdering an old Serbian national who was bedridden. The elderly man was shot with a Kalashnikov after he refused to comply to Babic’s demands.

These allegations match the findings examined by the International Criminal Court, which has characterised similar campaigns as part of efforts to establish ethnically homogeneous territories during the 1990s war in former Yugolavia.

The Italian courts will decide whether Babic will be transferred to Croatia for trial.