The Serbian police launched a big operation aimed at the arrest of several figures of the local underworld. 150 people were arrested and searches were carried out during a so-called "preventive" operation shortly before the next elections.
Among the arrestees:
Nebojsa "Stojke" Stojkovic: considered to be the leader of the "Rakovski" clan, he was wounded by bullets in August 2017 in Barcelona. He has already been convicted in Serbia for drug trafficking, robbery, illegal possession of arms and extortion;
Zvonko Mateovic: former bodyguard of "warlord" Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic (he was in his company during his murder at the hotel "Interkontinental" on 15 January 2000 and was wounded). He is known for extortion. His brother was shot dead in 2004, may be in his place;
Vladimir Karan: suspected of drug trafficking, he has never been sentenced for this kind of case. He was targeted several times by attempted murder, particularly in the explosion of his car bomb in 2015;
Vladimir "the Japanese" Jovanovic: Arrested several years ago in Spain, he was extradited to Serbia and sentenced for the extortion of a taxi company and the kidnapping of a girl. Long known as "Satan", he has since taken the nickname "Vlada Japanac". He would be a member of the "Zemun clan";
Veselin "Vesko" Vukotić: sentenced in Novi Sad for illegal possession of firearms and minor injuries. He is claimed by Montenegro for a homicide dating from 1997 and was sentenced in Brussels to life imprisonment for the murder of an Albanian activist in 1990. He was arrested in 2006 at Madrid airport with a false passport ;
Ljubiša Lindo Čombe: considered one of the leading drug traffickers in Belgrade. Arrested several times for heroin and cocaine trafficking, he has always managed to avoid convictions;
Hadži Zoran Jovanović, known as "Tebra": sentenced to 5 years in prison in Belgium for trafficking more than 200 kilos of cocaine. Also known in the Netherlands, he is a member of the Hells Angels;
Petar Guzijan: eldest son of Jovana Guzijana Cunera, a criminal boss killed in the early 2000s. Arrested because he was accused of being a member of the "new Zemun clan", he was acquitted;
Zoran "Tesha" Tešić: accused of attempted murder against the President of the Republican Party, he was sentenced in 2013 to 7 years in prison but acquitted in 2018 by the Belgrade Court of Appeal.
However, the police are still searching for Miljan Vukovic, the leader of the Hells Angels of Serbia. He is the son of Vuk Vukovic, a former casino owner and considered a close relative of warlord Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic (shot in 2000). Miljan Vukovic is also believed to have played the intermediary between some members of the movement of "Pink Panthers" (jewel thieves) and buyers in the Middle East.
