Pukanic Slaying Update
Croatian police have arrested eleven suspects and charged five with the October 23 murders of Ivo Pukanić and Niko Franjić. Of the five charged, two remain at large.
On Friday, authorities issued international arrest warrants for the two fugitives and told Reuters that law enforcement from BiH, Serbia and Croatia are jointly engaged in an extensive search of the region for the missing suspects.
Local media have identified the fugitives as Željko Milovanović, 42, a former member of the Serb paramilitary group the Red Berets and previously wanted by Croatian police on war crime charges, and Bojan Gudurić, 27, allegedly the member of an organized group that carried out 15 armed robberies in Vojvodina in 2005. Milovanovic holds both Croatian and Bosnian citizenship. Gudurić is a Serbian national.
Helmet Matches Footage of Scene
A raid conducted on Friday by Croatian and Bosnian police on Milovanović's apartment in the northern Bosnian town of Doboj found equipment consistent with that used in the assassination, including radios, more than a dozen cellphones and surveillance gear. Police also found a motorcycle helmet linking Milovanović to security camera footage of one suspect at the crime scene hours before the bombing. In the footage, a helmeted man leaves behind a scooter that police now believe carried the explosives used to kill Pukanić and Franjić.
At a press conference held in Zagreb later that day to announce the arrests, Croatian police spokesman Krunoslav Borovec told journalists that the suspects spent months in preparations for the assassination, including monitoring Pukanić's home and Nacional's offices and renting an apartment near the crime scene.
Among those currently in custody, Elvis Hadžić, who was arrested in the Bosnian town of Velika Kladuša near the Croatian border, is believed to have provided the explosive devices, based on evidence from police searches of his residence. Amir Mafalani, Robert Matanić and Luka Matanić, who were arrested Thursday evening at an apparent rendevous near the Croatian-Serbian border, are suspected along with Milovanović and Gudurić of having carried out the attack.
--Michael Mehen
Local media have identified the fugitives as Željko Milovanović, 42, a former member of the Serb paramilitary group the Red Berets and previously wanted by Croatian police on war crime charges, and Bojan Gudurić, 27, allegedly the member of an organized group that carried out 15 armed robberies in Vojvodina in 2005. Milovanovic holds both Croatian and Bosnian citizenship. Gudurić is a Serbian national.
Helmet Matches Footage of Scene
A composite photo of Zeljko Milanovic
At a press conference held in Zagreb later that day to announce the arrests, Croatian police spokesman Krunoslav Borovec told journalists that the suspects spent months in preparations for the assassination, including monitoring Pukanić's home and Nacional's offices and renting an apartment near the crime scene.
Among those currently in custody, Elvis Hadžić, who was arrested in the Bosnian town of Velika Kladuša near the Croatian border, is believed to have provided the explosive devices, based on evidence from police searches of his residence. Amir Mafalani, Robert Matanić and Luka Matanić, who were arrested Thursday evening at an apparent rendevous near the Croatian-Serbian border, are suspected along with Milovanović and Gudurić of having carried out the attack.
--Michael Mehen
