page_title: Serbian mafia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Serbian mafia / History
caption_attribution_description: Српски / srpski: Арканов гроб, Ново гробље, Београд Русский: Могила Желько Ражнатовича «Аркана» на белградском кладбище. English: Grave of Željko Ražnatović - Arkan. New cemetery in Belgrade, Serbia.
context_page_description: Serbian organized crime or Serbian mafia are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primarily involved in smuggling, arms trafficking, heists, drug trafficking, protection rackets, and illegal gambling. The mafia is composed of several major organized groups, which in turn have wider networks throughout Europe.
  It includes some highly successful groups, including one of the largest cocaine import enterprises in Europe "Groupa Amerika", and the "YACS" Crime Group, out of NYC. The "Pink Panthers" is responsible for some of the biggest heists ever committed. Its origin dates back to SFRY, which had very low crime rate, as criminals were allowed to live peacefully in Yugoslavia as long as they restricted their operations to abroad, and then bring the stolen goods and capital back to be spent at home. The Serbian mafia gave many Serbs a perceived way out of the economic disaster that occurred in the country following the implementation of internationally imposed sanctions against Serbia during the Yugoslav Wars.
context_section_description: Ljubomir Magaš, aka Ljuba Zemunac, was known as the "Godfather" of the Serbian mafia during the 1970s and 1980s. He and his gang operated in Germany and Italy during this time. He was assassinated in 1986 by his rival Goran "Majmun" Vuković. Vukasin Despotović & Dario Ivišić operated in the Netherlands and became one of the most powerful gangsters through his elimination of rivals while working as a hitman and took over the drug trade in the Netherlands. The drug that was smuggled was cocaine from Colombia and "Joca Amsterdam" became known as the "Cocaine King". He worked for "Duja" Bećirović as an underboss and later lived in Bulgaria where he successfully smuggled drugs until his arrest in 2002. Upon returning to Serbia, he took over companies by force, utilizing the Surčin clan, (one of three then most powerful "clans" of Belgrade). He was later involved in the 2008 assassination of Ivo Pukanić, a Croatian journalist killed by a car bomb.
  Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović was a successful bank robber in Western Europe in the 1970s. He had convictions and warrants in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. However, he managed to escape from several prisons and then made connections with several known criminals from Yugoslavia during his time there. In the 1980s he returned to Serbia where he became involved with illegal businesses and led the Red Star Belgrade supporters' group "Delije Sever" ("Ultras").
  The real breakthrough for criminal organizations in Serbia occurred in early 1990s, when the Yugoslav Wars erupted in first Croatia and then Bosnia. The Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks fought over territory in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. International sanctions were imposed on Serbia starting in May 1992 and Serbia became economically isolated. This prompted the breakthrough for criminal organizations. Desperate for money, many former soldiers and youngsters turned to a life of crime.
  In 1992, members of the "Peca" gang were arrested in a massive police-operation. One of the gang's members was Dušan Spasojević, who later became the head of the Zemun clan. A young mobster from the Belgrade suburb of Voždovac, Aleksandar "Knele" Knežević, was murdered in October of that year, prompting a brief, but violent Gang War in Belgrade.
  Arkan was the founder and leader of the Serb Volunteer Guard (Arkan's Tigers), a Serb paramilitary unit that fought during the Yugoslav Wars. The unit's members were mostly newly recruited Red Star Belgrade hooligans and gangsters from Serbia. Those who joined the unit profited on the battlefields by looting and stealing. Arkan later founded the Party of Serbian Unity in 1993. By the time he returned home, he had become the most powerful member of the Serbian Mafia. He married singer Svetlana "Ceca" Ražnatović.
  Since the days of SFRY, the mafia has sometimes been protected in exchange for political favors, thus having a direct connection to their activities. Stane Dolanc, a Slovene, instrumentalized the mafia for political assassinations abroad. In the 90s, the Mafia profited by smuggling cigarettes, alcohol and oil. Businessman Stanko Subotić was the person that made the largest profit at this time, as cigarettes and oil were in such high demand because of the sanctions. Subotić's net worth is estimated to be €650 million. After Milošević's fall from power, Subotić maintained connections with Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović, who granted him political favours.
  From 1994–2000, illegal cigarette smuggling in Italy was operated by the Serbian mafia in coordination with the Italian Mafia. Serb and Montenegrin soldiers who had returned from the front-lines of the Yugoslav wars found the only way to make a profit was by turning to a life of crime. The most common crimes were assassinations, kidnappings, drug and cigarette trafficking, robberies, money laundering, racketeering and illegal software production. In 1998, 350 kilograms of heroin were seized at the Serbian-Bulgarian border.
  On 15 January 2000, Arkan was assassinated in the lobby of the Continental Hotel in B
caption: Arkan's tomb
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