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REECE-MONTENEGRO-CRIME,LEAD
Greek police probe alleged Montenegrin gang killings
ATHENS, Jan 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Police in Greece on Monday were
investigating the fatal shooting of two men identified by Serbian media as
victims of a bloody five-year feud between Montenegrin crime factions.
The two men, whose details have not been officially released, were gunned
down on Sunday while dining with their wives and children at a restaurant
near Athens.
“They were shot in the head…as they sat eating with their families,” a
bystander told Open TV, adding that there were four assailants.
“I saw outstretched hands holding two guns and the firing began. We
immediately dove under tables,” another diner told Star TV.
“The firing seemed without end, we thought none of us would survive. It
was like a movie,” she said.
Police reportedly collected over 20 bullet casings from the scene.
One of the women at the table was shot in the leg but is not in danger,
Greek news reports said.
A police source told AFP that both victims were sought by Montenegrin
authorities under international warrants and were classified as “dangerous
and violent.”
“One of them was sought for guns, explosives and attempted murder, the
other for being part of a criminal organisation,” the official added.
Serbian tabloid Blic on Monday said the two men were members of the Kotor-
based Skaljarci clan, which has been locked in a feud with the crosstown
rival Kavcani outfit following a botched cocaine deal in Valencia in 2014.
The killings began in 2015 and have since claimed around 40 lives in
Montenegro, Serbia and Austria, Blic said.
According to Greek reports, the men were hiding in Greece under false
identities.
The police source declined to comment on the media reports.
Montenegro, which declared independence from Serbia in 2006, has struggled
to contain the widespread scourge of organised crime and related violence.
BSS/AFP/RY/1950 hrs