Barcelona has become a battleground for a violent feud between two Montenegrin crime clans, the Kavac and Skaljari, resulting in three murders and one attempted killing over the past nine months. These incidents are part of a wider conflict that has claimed 80 lives globally, according to Sasa Djordjevic, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.
The executions in Catalonia have been well-planned, involving armed men who discreetly approached their targets and fired at close range. Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police, have not arrested any perpetrators. Investigators believe these professional hitmen, either clan members or hired assassins, travel to Barcelona by road, carry out their attacks, and then leave the country, leaving no forensic evidence like fingerprints or DNA.
Solving these crimes, currently under judicial secrecy in Catalan courts, will require international police cooperation to share vital information.
Escalating Violence in Catalonia
The first incident in Barcelona's Montenegrin clan war occurred in July 2025. Filipu Knezevic, 36, a Kavac clan hitman, was shot dead on Consell de Cent street. Police found eight shell casings, with four bullets hitting Knezevic, three in the chest and one in the head. The assassin waited hidden inside a building entrance. Knezevic was suspected of killing two rival mafiosi in Corfu, Greece, in 2020.
Days later, on 2 August, Predrag Vujosevic, known as 'Marko', a member of the Skaljari clan and part of the 'Pink Panthers' international jewel theft network, was shot while walking his dog on Urgell street in the Catalan capital. He survived the attack. Vujosevic was serving a sentence in Barcelona but had some freedom, being on a third-degree prison regime. He only returned to prison from Monday to Friday to sleep at an open centre in La Trinitat, serving time for drug trafficking in the Canary Islands in 2021, where he was arrested for attempting to distribute 408 kilos of cocaine with others.
Recent Fatalities and Investigations
The second fatal victim was Milan Milic, also allegedly a Skaljari clan member. He was shot dead on 22 December in Castelldefels, a municipality near Barcelona. The hitman fired four shots at point-blank range before disappearing, and Mossos d'Esquadra could not locate him.
The most recent chapter unfolded just two weeks ago, on 14 April. At around 4pm, two men dressed in black shot Krsto Vujic, alias 'Terminator'. Vujic was having a drink on a bar terrace on Passeig de Taulat, near Diagonal Mar in the Poblenou neighbourhood. He was seated with a woman and a small child. Vujic was admitted to a Barcelona hospital in critical condition and died a week later. Krsto “Terminator” Vujic was also a member of the Skaljari clan.
The ongoing investigations face significant challenges due to the professional nature of the perpetrators and their apparent ability to enter and exit Spain undetected. Future progress in these cases will likely depend on intelligence sharing and collaborative efforts between Catalan police and international law enforcement agencies, as the clans' activities extend far beyond Catalonia's borders.
