(, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as (), was a Serbian warlord, mobster and head of the Serb Volunteer Guard during the Yugoslav Wars, considered one of the most feared and effective paramilitary forces during the wars. His paramilitary unit was responsible for numerous crimes in Eastern Bosnia, including murder, pillaging, rape and ethnic cleansings. was one of the most feared, celebrated and iconic figures in Serbia during his time.
was on Interpol's top 10 most wanted list in the 1970s and 1980s for robberies and murders committed in countries across Europe, he escaped jail twice, and was later indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity. Up until his assassination in January 2000, was the most powerful organised crime figure in the Balkans, as well as the most powerful state-sponsored gangster in Serbia. had links to Avraham Golan, an infamous security contractor.
Early life was born in , a small border town in Lower Styria, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia. His father, , a Montenegrin Serb, served as a decorated officer in the Yugoslav Air Force, being highly ranked for his notable involvement in World War II. was stationed in Slovenian Styria at the time when his fourth child was born.Miloš Milikić Mido – Za naše nebo — Monografija prve klase letača Vazduhoplovnog učilišta 1945-1947. Belgrade 1995.
Infant spent part of his childhood in Zagreb and Pančevo before his father's job eventually took the family to the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade, which is considered his hometown. He grew up with three older sisters in a strict, militaristic patriarchal household with regular physical abuse from his father. In a 1991 interview, he recalled: "He didn't really hit me in a classical sense, he'd basically grab me and slam me against the floor." As a child, was considered to be a "problem child" by his teachers who regularly complained of his unruly behavior.
In his youth, aspired to become a pilot, as his father had been. Due to the highly demanding and significant positions of his parents, there appeared to be very little time in which a bond was able to be established between parents and children. His parents eventually divorced during his teenage years.
was arrested for the first time in 1966 for snatching women's purses around Tašmajdan Park, spending a year at a juvenile detention centre not far from Belgrade. His father then sent him to the seaside town of Kotor in order to join the Yugoslav Navy, but had other plans (ending up in Paris at the age of 15). In 1969, was arrested by French police and deported home, where he was sentenced to three years at a detention centre in Valjevo for several burglaries. During this time, he organised his own gang in the prison.
In his youth, was a ward of his father's friend, the Slovenian politician and Federal Minister of the Interior, . was chief of the Directorate for State Security (UDBA) and a close associate of President Josip Broz Tito. Whenever was in trouble, helped him, allegedly as a reward for his services to the UDBA, as seen in the escape from the Lugano prison in 1981. is quoted as having said: "One is worth more than the whole UDBA."
Criminal career Western Europe In 1972, aged 20, migrated to Western Europe. Abroad, he was introduced to and kept contact with many well-known criminals from Yugoslavia, such as , , , and , all of whom were also occasionally contracted by the UDBA, and all of whom have since been assassinated or otherwise died. took the nickname "" from one of his forged passports. On 28 December 1973, he was arrested in Belgium following a bank robbery, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1974, was active in Sweden and among other crimes robbed a bank in .
managed to escape from the Verviers prison on 4 July 1979. Although he was apprehended in the Netherlands on 24 October 1979, the few months he was free were enough for at least two more armed robberies in Sweden and three more in the Netherlands. Serving a seven-year sentence at a prison in Amsterdam, pulled off another escape on 8 May 1981 after someone slipped him a gun. Wasting no time, more robberies followed, this time in West Germany, where after less than a month of freedom he was arrested in Frankfurt on 5 June 1981 following a jewellery store stickup. In the ensuing shootout with police he was lightly wounded, resulting in his placement in the prison hospital ward. Looser security allowed to escape again only four days later, on 9 June, supposedly by jumping from the window, beating up the first passerby and stealing his clothing before disappearing. His final Western European arrest occurred in Basel, Switzerland, during a routine traffic check on 15 February 1983. However, he managed to escape again within months, this time from Thorberg Prison on 27 April.
It is widely speculated that was closely affiliated with the UDBA throughout his criminal career abroad. He had convictions or warrants in Belgium (bank robberies, prison escape), the Netherlands (armed robberies, prison escape), Sweden (twenty burglaries, seven bank robberies, prison escape, attempted murder), West Germany (armed robberies, prison escape), Austria, Switzerland (armed robberies, prison escape), and Italy. had achieved the status in the Belgrade underworld of earning "", a Serbo-Croatian phrase that roughly translates as being "respected for fear". was generally achieved in the Yugoslav underworld by committing violent crimes in Western Europe, being arrested and convicted, serving a sentence in a Western European prison, and terrorising the other inmates to such an extent that the said criminal became the most feared inmate in the prison. In the macho world of the Yugoslav underworld, having status was seen as proof of a criminal's toughness and masculinity.
Return to Yugoslavia returned to Belgrade in May 1983, continuing his criminal career by managing a number of illegal activities. In November of that year, six months after his return, a bank in Zagreb was robbed with the thieves leaving a rose on the counter (allegedly 's signature from his robberies in Western Europe). Looking to question about his whereabouts during the robbery, two policemen, members of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs' (SUP) Tenth department from the Belgradian municipality of Palilula, showed up in civilian clothing at his mother's flat on 27 March Street in Belgrade. happened to not be home at the moment, so the policemen introduced themselves to his mother as "friends of her son looking to return a cash debt they owed him" and asked the woman if they could wait for him to return to the flat. 's mother phoned him to say that two unknown males waited for him. showed up with a revolver and proceeded to shoot and wound both policemen. He was detained immediately; however, barely 48 hours later, he was released. The occurrence made it clear to all observers, especially his criminal rivals, that he enjoyed protection from the highest echelons of the Yugoslav state security establishment.
spent the mid-1980s running the Amadeus discothèque together with and . Located in the neighbourhood, the nightclub was reportedly another perk of their contractual work for the UDBA. Moreover, could be seen driving around Belgrade in a pink Cadillac and gambling on roulette in casinos all over the country, from Belgrade (Hotel ) and nearby Pančevo to Sveti Stefan (Hotel Maestral on the Miločer beach) and Portorož (Hotel Metropol).
An avid gambler, following a private game of poker in a flat at Street in Belgrade, got into a lift altercation with a tenant from the flat building, reportedly breaking the man's arm after beating him with a gun. could not avoid being charged this time and the trial saw a notable exchange between him and the judge; during the pre-session identification, stated he was an employee of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs (SUP). When this was challenged by the prosecutor, produced a document summarising a mortgage loan he obtained from the UDBA for his house at Street. He ended up receiving a six-month sentence, which he served at the Belgrade Central Prison. In the late 1980s, a football hooligan subculture had emerged in Yugoslavia and the unruly and rowdy fans of the Red Star Belgrade football team were seen as a major social problem. At the request of the Ministry of the Interior, took over the () fan club of Red Star Belgrade in an attempt to impose some control on the hooligans. quickly became a hero to the club by his ability to arrange for them to go to Western Europe whenever Red Star Belgrade played a game in a Western European city.
Yugoslav Wars Early Only days after the 1990 Croatian multi-party election, , who was the leader of the (hooligan supporters of the football club Red Star Belgrade), was present at the away game against Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb at Stadion Maksimir on 13 May, a match that ended in the infamous Dinamo–Red Star riot. and the , consisting of 1,500 people, were involved in a massive fight with the home team's football hooligans, the Bad Blue Boys. On 11 October 1990, as the political situation in Yugoslavia became tense, created a paramilitary group named the Serb Volunteer Guard. was the supreme commander of the unit, which was primarily made up of members of the and his personal friends.Nebojsa Popov, Drinka Gojkovic; (1999) The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis p. 388; Central European University Press, Michael A. Innes; (2006) Bosnian Security after Dayton: New Perspectives (Contemporary Security Studies) p. 75; Routledge,
In late October 1990, traveled to Knin to meet representatives of the SAO Krajina, a Serb break-away region that sought to remain in FR Yugoslavia, as opposed to the Croatian government that seceded. On 29 November, Croatian police arrested him at the Croatian-Bosnian border crossing Dvor na Uni along with local and Belgraders and . 's entourage was sent to Sisak and was charged with conspiracy to overthrow the newly formed Croatian state. was sentenced to twenty months in jail. He was released from Zagreb's Remetinec prison on 14 June 1991. It has been claimed that the Croatian and Serbian governments agreed on a DM1 million settlement for his release. (in Serbian)
In July 1991, stayed for some time at the Cetinje Monastery with Metropolitan of Montenegro . His group of men, fully armed, were allowed to enter the monastery, where they served as security before travelling to the Siege of Dubrovnik.
War
The Serb Volunteer Guard, also known as "'s Tigers", was organised as an elite paramilitary force supporting the Serb armies, set up in a former military facility in Erdut. The force, led by and , consisted of a core of 600 men and perhaps totaled more than 5,000 soldiers, and it was much feared by the public.Vasic, "Yugoslav Army" p. 134; UN experts Final Report par. 92, 139 Under 's command the SDG massacred hundreds of people in eastern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.Tony Judt; (2006) Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, chapter XXI; Penguin Books, It saw action from mid-1991 until late 1995, and was supplied and equipped privately, by the reserves of the Serbian police force or through capturing enemy arms.