Unexpected breakthrough in Daškevičius case, which has been stalled for nearly 20 years: Two Kaunas residents arrested on suspicion of organizing a resounding murder

“A police operation is underway, the results of which will be announced tomorrow or even early next week,” said Ramūnas Matonis, spokesman for the Lithuanian Police Department, on the situation. However, it did not deny that those arrests had taken place or were still ongoing.

There is information that the two detained Kaunas residents, R. Dromantas and R. Užukauskas, will be transferred to court on Thursday at 12:45.

The father of rap celebrities

R. Daškevičius, who was shot in 2001 under the nickname Daškė, was famous not only in criminal circles, but also as a prominent personality in the Lithuanian boxing world. Before his death, he was president of the Lithuanian Boxing Federation and tried to establish himself in the world of legal business and sports.

Today, Daškė is remembered much more often when the media tells stories about his two sons, who are active in the scandalous rap group “Flying Saucer Gang”. Daškė’s eldest son Remigijus Daškevičius, better known by the nickname Remis Retro, had been in close contact with Lithuanian social media celebrity Karolina Meschino for some time before.

The investigation into the murder of Daškė of Kaunas, which took place on the night of November 24, 2001, has so far been full of secrets. The bullet from the mysterious R. Daškevičius sniper was fired by the Italian restaurant “St. Valentine’s Gate.

The version that a 33-year-old resident of Kaunas was shot by a sniper could have been ordered by his former business partner, a tall Kaunas resident nicknamed Long, who has not yet been escorted by security guards, has been floating around for long time. In Kaunas and other cities in the country, R. Dromantas drove a BMW 7 series car with wheels.

“In my opinion, Rolandas Dromantas (a former friend of Daškės, with whom they seriously clashed six months before the murder of R. Daškevičius) has also contributed,” said former Daškiniai actor G. Polita publicly 6 years ago. – I think he’s the main one, and with whom he did it, now no one will say. So all of Kaunas got angry because Remigijus rose up with such force that his opinion was respected throughout Lithuania, even in Russia, in foreign countries. Clearly, he had enemies everywhere. His former friends simply envied him. Good cars, beautiful women, lots of money. “

In the criminal world of Kaunas, it has long been suspected that the murder of R. Daškevičius may have been organized by his close friend R. Dromantas, nicknamed Ilgas. It was in 2001 that Daškė and Long’s relationship deteriorated significantly. On both sides, shots rang out not only in Lithuania, but also in Kaliningrad, where Kaunas residents carried out large business projects together.

“I will not hide, there were thoughts that if Long and Ruble (Robertas Užukauskas, R. Dromantas ‘closest business partner) appear at Remigijus’ funeral in the Petrašiūnai cemetery, we will translate them immediately. It was decided to shoot both of them right. in front of Remigijus’ other friends. Would he have done that? Today I can say with certainty. A special weapon was chosen for such a task, several people prepared to cover me, “said G. Polita once openly.

Former Kaunas Criminal Police officer Zenonas Rimša is convinced that people like R. Daškevičius simply cannot live long.

“It just came to our notice then. There were rumors that there were shootings … For a long time someone was shooting there. When we found out that Daškė was shot in Vilnius, I remember talking to my colleagues: it’s good that it’s not in Kaunas, ”said Z. Rimša.

In the criminal world of Kaunas there were rumors that Daškė’s death might have been wished at the same time, in October 2001, by the leader of the Kaunas doctors Henrikas Daktaras, nicknamed Henytė, who returned to prison after another sentence. He is currently serving a life sentence in Pravieniškės.

In a letter written a decade ago, H. Daktaras from Lukiškės Pretrial Prison taught:

“In Kaunas at that time, everyone was a leader and there was not such a one-sided leader. When I returned from Siberia in late 1991, many knew and respected me. Sometimes they asked my opinion, but did what they wanted. Yes I would have been sole proprietor, long ago I would have been shot as Bakana (Gintautas Bakanauskas), Stankė (Vaidotas Stankevičius), Kęstutis Juršas, Paūkas-Saškas (Aleksandras Paukovas) or Daškė, who were not willing to give in. Sooner or later they were destroyed “.

The most professional murder

According to experts, the murder of R. Daškevičius is probably the most professionally committed murder for hire in the history of Lithuanian forensic medicine.

Vytautas Grigaravičius, a long-time former chief of the country’s police, also agreed that Daškė’s murder was the work of a professional killer. “We just realized that this crime was masterfully crafted. After all, he too was ready to retire. Therefore, it was difficult to reveal that crime,” said V. Grigaravičius.

From breakers to gangsters

Daškė, who grew up in the picturesque Kaunas Žaliakalnis district, did not stand out. She graduated from the eighth grade of Kaunas High School 43 (now Varpas Gymnasium – ed. Past.). Among his classmates was one of the most famous film announcers of today, who presents shows and cultural events in various media.

Later, Daškė became interested in boxing, break dancing at Žaliakalnis’ most popular restaurant “Žalias kalnas” during the Soviet era, served in the Soviet army, and then returned home.

Why did R. Daškevičius become mistakes? Some of his childhood friends believe that he chose a criminal career only because, as a teenager, he saw an impressive feature film about four friends from a poor neighborhood who entered the criminal world of New York together.

The art film “Once in America” ​​by American filmmaker Sergio Leones in 1984 attracted much interest from the public.

According to Daškė’s friends, it was this film that left a very deep impression: R. Daškevičius knew exactly what he would like to become after his first review. “He was already telling me at the time that this movie showed the life he dreamed of,” recalled one of the ancient inhabitants of Daškiniai.

When R. Daškevičius returned from prison in the middle of the last decade of the last century (in 1991 he was convicted of trespassing, but returned in 1994 after serving only part of his sentence).

By fighting with other criminal gangs in the city, they lost a lot of people.
R. Daškevičius was not disappointed by such a prospect, he began to actively seek other sources of livelihood: Daškė plunged into cigarette smuggling with several fiercest participants of the underground business, established contacts with casino owners and cigarette sellers operating in Kaliningrad.

In 2000, R. Daškevičius was elected president of the Lithuanian Boxing Federation. Having accumulated impressive sums of money and gained authority, he intended to distance himself from the criminal world and fostered a series of projects related to big business and sports. But everything was interrupted by a deadly bullet aimed at people unknown to him.

For some time, reports have circulated that some high-ranking officials of R. Daškevičius and his associates were actively involved in the cigarette smuggling business in 2000-2001, even investing large sums of money.

R. Dromantas and R. Užukauskas, suspected of organizing Daškė’s murder, lived in hiding for many years and nothing was heard from them. The last time they came to the attention of law enforcement agencies was a decade ago when a Kaunas resident accused them of extorting property and trading food supplements. R. Dromantas and R. Užukauskas spent almost nine months behind bars in this case at the Kaunas Detention Center. However, the case ended when R. Dromantas was released and R. Užukauskas paid with a fine.