Dušan Spasojević (Cyrillic: Душан Спасојевић; 10 July 1968 – 27 March 2003), known by the nicknames Duća and Šiptar[1][2] (a derogatory term for Albanians)[3] was the head of one of the largest Serbian criminal groups on record, the Zemun Clan.

Dušan Spasojević
Душан Спасојевић
Born(1968-07-10)10 July 1968
Died27 March 2003(2003-03-27) (aged 34)
NationalitySerbian
OccupationCriminal
SpouseTatjana Spasojević
Children2
RelativesMilovan Spasojević
Stanka Spasojević

The peak of Zemun Clan's influence occurred from 2000 until 2003 when a country-wide manhunt, named Operation Sabre, was initiated after the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, leading to more than 11,000 people associated with organized criminal groups being detained.[4][5]

Serbian police surrounded Spasojević and his accomplice, Mile Luković. After a shootout between the two sides, Spasojević and Luković were killed by police in front of their hiding place by a sniper[6] in the village of Meljak near Belgrade on 27 March 2003.[7][8]

References edit

  1. ^ "Glavni ortak zemljak". Novosti.rs (in Serbian). Večernje novosti. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Banditi pod šapkom zemljaka". Novosti.rs (in Serbian). Večernje novosti. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Serbia: l'Alta corte emette sentenza storica. "Šiptar", un termine offensivo". 22 October 2018.
  4. ^ "11 years since assassination of Zoran Đinđić". B92. 2014-03-12. Archived from the original on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  5. ^ "AKCIJA 'SABLJA'". www.arhiva.srbija.gov.rs. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  6. ^ "Убиты основные подозреваемые в убийстве сербского премьера // НТВ.Ru" ["The main suspects in the murder of the Serbian prime minister were killed // NTV.Ru"]. web.archive.org (in Russian). 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  7. ^ "Serb police kill Djindjic suspects". 2003-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  8. ^ "The Hindu : Suspects in Djindjic murder shot dead". web.archive.org. 2004-01-14. Retrieved 2024-03-15.