Milan Ljepoja, a suspected member of the international gang of expensive jewelry thieves Pink Panthers, disappeared last week, and investigators are not ruling out the possibility that he was lured and later abducted.
As a reminder, since the beginning of this year, up to three men have been killed for whom there is operational data that they were part of the Pink Panther, but also that they were close to the scalping clan.
They are afraid of the worst
– The murders of Damir Hadžić in Greece, Aleksandar Šarc and Bojan Mirković in Belgrade and the disappearance of Ljepoja are connected by two things, and it is that they were all supposedly related to a famous group of thieves, but also that they were in contact with criminal clans – says Kurir’s interlocutor familiar with the case.
photo: Zorana Jevtić
It also notes that during the previous months, several men who were in contact with two warring clans, Skaljarski and Kavački, disappeared in Belgrade and that to this day nothing is known about them.
– Milan Ljepoja reportedly left Nis for Belgrade by taxi last Wednesday. Since then, he has lost track and his family fears the worst, says the source.
photo: Zorana Jevtić, Social networks
Bojan mirkovic
Killed in Belleville
Bojan Mirkovic, who was killed on November 12 in the garage of the building where he lived in Belleville, New Belgrade, was allegedly close to “touts”, and made himself known to the public in 2013 when Vienna police launched a search and marked him as one of the leaders of the Vienna Pink Panthers. At that time, his three accomplices were arrested, as well as eight robbers in Austria and Hungary, for robbing a jewelry store in Klagenfurt.
Božidar Spasić, a former DB operative, explains to Kurir that according to information from the police and the underground, the Pink Panthers relied mainly on the scalping clan. It explains that by the fact that the members of the famous group of thieves are not strong enough to act independently.
– The Pink Panthers are a group of thieves and robbers who robbed goldsmiths and galleries in public. The fact is that they could not act alone and that they are also members of clans, that is, they act together with clans. Therefore, it is obvious that their disappearances, even murders, must be linked to the criminal groups at war, says Spasić, adding:
– The Pink Panthers also became involved in clan conflict, because they are not independent. A large number of jewelries now have much better protection and are not as easy to steal as before, which is why a large number of thieves have reoriented themselves to the drug trade, along with the clans.
photo: Nemanja Nikolic, Instagram Printscreen
Aleksandar Šarac
Filmed on TC “Ušće”
Aleksandar Šarac, who was shot twice on October 17 at TC “Ušće’s garage in New Belgrade, died nine days later, was also part of the Pink Panthers criminal group and allegedly close to the Skaljar clan. He was released from prison at the end of 2018, and just a month later he became the target of hitman Čaba Dera, who then, as is suspected, accidentally replaced the victims and killed Šarč’s brother-in-law.
Unsolved kidnappings
Let us remind you, Ljepoja became known to the public after the spectacular robbery in Dubai in 2007, when jewelery worth € 11 million was taken by masked robbers. Boža Spasić does not rule out the possibility that after the murders of his “colleagues” Šarc and Mirković in the last two months, he decided to remove Ljepoja.
– On the other hand, both the Skaljarski and Kavački clans have kidnappings and murders behind them, and lately more cases of kidnappings, which are believed to have ended in death, but the bodies were not found – says Spasić.
photo: corfupress fonos, screenshot
Damir Hadžić liquidated in Corfu Damir Hadzic of Uzice was killed on July 25 on the Greek island of Corfu, along with one of the leaders of the Skaljar clan, Alan Kozar de Baran. According to data from security services, he was linked to a series of robberies in Europe and was one of the prominent members of the Pink Panther. In recent years, he acted as part of the Skaljar clan and was one of the closest associates of the leaders of that clan. As proof of this, there is allegedly an Interpol arrest warrant, which was issued against him due to the murder of Davorin Baltić, a member of the Kavač clan.
