How the war between two feared drug clans in Montenegro has reached Catalonia

BarcelonaKotor is a city of just over 10,000 inhabitants located in southern Montenegro. Surrounded by mountains and the sea, it is a popular tourist destination, perfectly illustrating the rugged and imposing landscape of this Balkan country. But Kotor was also the birthplace of a mafia that was very active at the beginning of the century, primarily involved in drug trafficking. Its reach extended throughout Europe and even extended to the port of Valencia. In 2014, a shipment of cocaine disappeared. According to a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, it was a Kotor mafia operation that went bankrupt. This shipment sparked an internal war within the mafia, leaving two clearly distinct factions: the Skaljari and the Kavac. The war continues, and in recent months Catalonia has been feeling its consequences.

This Monday afternoon in CastelldefelsIn broad daylight, a man approached another and shot him three times at point-blank range, mortally wounding him. The man lying on the ground was a Montenegrin citizen. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) had no information about him, leading them to believe he had recently arrived in the country. According to ARA, all indications point to the victim being a member of the Skaljari clan. The result was a revenge killing, and the Mossos are investigating whether it is related to drug trafficking. It is still too early to know if this latest crime is part of the open war between the two clans, but it is further evidence of the presence of these gangs in Catalonia, a country they often choose as a hideout. And it is not the only evidence.

On July 15, a man was entering his home on Consell de Cent street, in the heart of Barcelona. It was daytime. And suddenly, one Another man approached and shot him several times at point-blank range.Who was the perpetrator? It's still unknown. And the victim? A man linked to the Kavac clan. In fact, in 2020 he was involved in a shootout that killed two members of the rival Skaljari clan. Everything seems to indicate that he chose Barcelona to hide. And it doesn't end there. A week later, not far from there, on Comte d'Urgell Street, a man was shot several times. Again, the perpetrator is unknown. The victim was Predrag Vujosevic – known asMarko–A notorious leader of the Pink Panther gang, which specializes in jewelry store robberies, was arrested in 2021 for being part of the Skaljari clan. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) are investigating whether these two shootings in Barcelona's Eixample district are linked and are in talks with the Montenegrin police. They are investigating whether one crime is a consequence of the other. Now, another daytime murder has occurred in Castelldefels, with the conflict between Montenegrin gangs as a backdrop. Furthermore, on December 12th, a man was shot in the Nou Barris district. The victim, an Albanian national, was armed, and the perpetrator is still at large. Currently, the victim is not cooperating with the police in this case. At present, the incidents are not directly linked to Montenegrin organized crime, but the Mossos are also investigating whether an Eastern European clan is involved.

Athens, Rome and Vienna

However, the war between the Skaljari and Kavac clans has been raging for years and has spread across Europe. According to reports from Europol, Montenegrin authorities, and the United Nations, several revenge killings related to this conflict have been recorded on the continent. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports crimes in Athens (January 2020), Rome (also in January), Vienna (December of the same year), and other cities such as Berlin, Amsterdam, and Malaga. Another report from the Montenegrin government warns that, up to 2021, the war between these two clans had resulted in more than 60 serious crimes against life in the country. This dispute has even reached South Africa, where five years ago nine murders linked to Balkan mafias were recorded. The same document warns that even minors have been detected participating in this war of revenge. The same reports state that the origin of these reprisals lies precisely in the control of drug trafficking routes, especially cocaine. The dispute has evolved into a war to try to eliminate the rival mafia and the competition for the drug market, but also to bribe the political structures of the countries where they operate. Reports from the Montenegrin government indicate that both clans own properties in the country valued at 27 million euros. They typically launder their drug profits through real estate investments. "Skaljari and Kavac are two powerful and high-risk organized crime groups," warns the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.