Two key figures of notorious Serbian clan arrested in Barcelona

The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), in collaboration with Europol and six other European partners, have arrested two senior members of the notorious Serbian "Vračar Clan", dismantling a key faction of the group.

The clan leader was apprehended in Barcelona on 18 October, followed by the arrest of his lieutenant on 22 October. Both were wanted for charges including murder, attempted murder and kidnapping of rival gang members in Serbia, Austria, Germany and Spain.

The clan leader was considered one of Europe’s most wanted and dangerous fugitives.

The " VračarClan", a sub-clan of the “Kavač” one, has been involved in a violent feud with the rival "Škaljari Clan" since 2014, resulting in over 60 deaths. This conflict began following the seizure of a large cocaine shipment at the Port of Valencia.

Europol played a key role in the operation, focusing on intelligence development and operational support. Its experts collaborated with Austrian, German, and Serbian authorities to analyse the suspects' encrypted communications, leading to their identification and eventual capture. As part of this effort, Serbian police officers were deployed to Europol in 2021 to work on these targets.

In the past month, Europol, with the support of the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST), coordinated the efforts of law enforcement agencies in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ultimately led to the arrests.

Both suspects now face extradition and are expected to be prosecuted for their involvement in several high-profile murders.

The following authorities took part in this investigation:

• Austria: Criminal Intelligence Service Austria (Bundeskriminalamt)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Srpska (Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova Republike Srpske)
• Croatia: Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia (Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova Republike Hrvatske)
• Germany: Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt)
• Serbia: Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, Criminal Investigations Directorate, Service for Combating Organized Crime and FAST (Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova Republike Srbije, Uprava kriminalističke policije, Služba za borbu protiv organizovanog kriminala i FAST)
• Spain: National Police (Policía Nacional)
• Slovenia: Criminal Police Directorate (Uprava kriminalistične policije)