August 25, 2022 - It is becoming clearer that yesterday’s Zrće murder was a mafia liquidation. This stems both from the information about the murdered person that has become public, as well as from the way the murder was carried out.
Index reports the events.
Everything points to mafia liquidation
Goran Vlaović, a 38-year-old citizen of Montenegro, was killed. According to unofficial information, he was a member of the infamous Škaljar mafia clan. In the last few years, media in the region have often reported on mutual liquidations or attempted liquidations of members of the Škaljar and Kavač clans. Both clans originate from Montenegro, but are branched across the Balkans, especially in Serbia.
So far, there is no confirmation that the killer, a citizen of Serbia, is connected to the Kavač clan, but the Croatian police suspect that Vlaović's murder has a mafia background.
He might be linked to another mafia murder
According to unofficial information, the killer is 28-year-old Duško Tanasović from Kragujevac. He is a citizen of Serbia, but a warrant has been issued for him in Montenegro. Tanasković is already on the Montenegrin warrant because he is linked to another brutal murder.
The 28-year-old is linked to the liquidation of Minja Šaković in Budva on June 17 of this year. Šaković was close to the Škaljars, and he was killed in a cafe in Budva's Old Town.
He remains silent
The Croatian police is still conducting a criminal investigation. Expert examination of the gun, DNA analysis, as well as an expert examination in which Tanasković will be physically compared with surveillance camera footage will be conducted to confirm that it was he who killed Vlaović.
During the day, the police also dealt with confirming the identity of the arrested Serbian citizen, which could mean that he had false documents with him. Unofficially, more people were detained, but it is not yet clear who they are. The killer is allegedly known to the Serbian police, but no arrest warrant has been issued for him in Serbia.
Tanasković defends himself by remaining silent, represented by Split lawyer Vinko Gulišija.
The victim convicted of aiding and abetting murder in Montenegro
The murdered Vlaović was previously convicted in Montenegro for assisting in the murder of Marko Vesnić - a Crvena Zvezda fan and the leader of Delije, and wounding his godfather Ivan Marković in Herceg Novi, Montenegro.
Both the liquidation on Zrće and the one two months ago in Budva were recorded by surveillance cameras, the recordings will be compared
The way in which Vlaović was killed, as previously said, suggests that it was a mafia liquidation.
The murder on Zrće beach on the island of Pag, not far from Novalja, which happened this morning around 6 o'clock, was recorded by surveillance cameras, which, of course, are also available to the Croatian police.
The murder in Budva was also recorded by surveillance cameras, so the Montenegrin police will compare that video with the one from Zrće to determine whether Tanasković really committed both liquidations.
What the footage of the surveillance cameras shows
In the video that explicitly shows the moment of the murder, the murdered Vlaović and another man can be seen walking along the Zrće beach next to the restaurants there.
A few moments after the murdered man and the man accompanying him enter the frame, the video shows a man in a black long-sleeved T-shirt or a light jacket, light trousers, and a white cap on his head.
He walks a few meters behind Vlaović and his friend, and then quickly approaches them and shoots Vlaović in the back of the head from a distance of about one meter.
The killer ran away, some people scattered, some helped Vlaović
He allegedly fired a gun with a silencer. Vlaović falls to the ground, and the killer instantly runs away from the scene. He threw the gun away.
At least thirty people can be seen in the footage from surveillance cameras. A few seconds after the shot, some of the people scattered, while some went to help the Montenegrin citizen who was lying on the ground.
The police apparently managed to get information about the direction in which the killer fled from the security guard, and perhaps from one of the visitors to Zrće. He was soon found and arrested by the intervention police. The head of the Pag Police Station, Željko Blaić, said that the quick arrest is proof of good organization.
Police chief: The perpetrator was arrested within 15 minutes, a gun was also found
“The police are sufficiently present around Zrće. They are now receiving help from inland. Proof of good organisation is that the perpetrator was arrested within 15 minutes”, Blaić said on RTL Danas.
He confirmed that the gun had been found.
“The means of committing the murder have been found. The police are conducting all evidentiary actions in cooperation with the County State Attorney's Office. Part of the expert examination has been completed, but a good part of it is still to come”, he said.
“Both the perpetrator and the murderer are registered in their countries as perpetrators of multiple criminal acts"
Blaić also confirmed that Montenegro has issued a warrant for the 28-year-old murderer from Serbia.
“At this moment, the motives of the murder cannot be discussed. Intensive international police cooperation is taking place. I can confirm that those suspected of murder and those killed in their country are registered as perpetrators of multiple crimes," said Blaić.
Girlfriend of the victim: It's all true, I feel terrible
The girlfriend of the murdered Vlaović, former Serbian Miss Universe Dragana Banić, confirmed that her boyfriend was murdered. As she clarified, she had been in a relationship with Vlaović for two and a half years.
“We went on vacation to the island of Pag. I don't know what exactly happened. I didn't see that moment, but I was with him in the emergency room. It's terrible for me. I feel really bad”, Banić told the Serbian tabloid Kurir.
Due to the shock, she couldn't talk much about what happened.
“Everything is true. I'm extremely sick, I'm not well, I'm extremely sick, understand me”, Dragana Banić said through tears.
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