Due to suspicion that on July 8th Whisper tried to kill Milan Ostojić Sandokan, the police arrested UM (32) from Šabac and MM (32) from Ub, the MUP announced.
The suspects are also charged with the criminal offense of illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking weapons and explosive materials.
They will be detained for up to 48 hours, after which, with a criminal complaint, they will be brought to the competent prosecutor's office, according to the announcement.
The arrest operation was carried out in a cottage, where the suspects were hiding after the attack.
Ostojić was attacked on July 8, around 23 p.m. near the bus station, in front of a restaurant in the shopping center in Šabac. According to the media, the shooting was preceded by a verbal argument in front of the bar.
The attackers fired several shots at Ostojić, he suffered gunshot wounds to his back and pelvis. One bullet went through his body and exited through his stomach.
His friends transported him in a private vehicle to the Šabac Health Center in a conscious state, and due to the severity of his injuries, he was transported to the Military Medical Academy (MMA), where he underwent surgery.
The Rise and Fall of the "Sabačka Group"
Sandokan is very well known in the criminal milieu of western Serbia. During the 2000s, the prosecution designated him as the leader of the "Sabačka Group", an organization that was accused of brutal liquidations, criminal association and drug trafficking. However, he was legally acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy.
The prosecution claimed that Ostojić directly ordered the murders of competitors from the underground. Among them was the liquidation of Predrag Živanović in 2006, who was shot several times in the center of Šabac.
Before the Special Court in Belgrade in 2013, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for inciting the murder of Sinisa Kromek (29), which took place in 2007 in front of a car wash. He was acquitted of charges of drug trafficking and criminal association. In 2015, the Court of Appeal cut his sentence in half to 10 years, and he was released from prison in 2018.
Political controversies, "Ćaciland" and the incident in Slavija
After serving his sentence, Ostojić again found himself in the focus of the investigative media and the political public, this time due to his alleged ties to the ruling party.
The former mayor of Šabac, Nebojša Zelenović, publicly accused Ostojić as early as 2020 that, at the expense of the ruling party, "by sowing fear, he ensures that no capillary vote is lost to the progressives of Šabac".
Ostojić then sued Zelenović for injury to his honor and reputation and won that dispute in court.
KRIK published photos showing that Ostojić stayed in "Ćaciland". The photos showed him inside a tent with SNS MP Uglješa Mrdić.
The last incident before the injury occurred on May 19 this year at Slavia. During the simultaneous gathering students and a supporter of the government, a video was recorded showing Ostojić getting in the face of a student and hitting him on the head with his hand. The young man reported the incident to the police, later telling the media:
"I have heard from multiple colleagues that money is allegedly being offered for my identification, I have been threatened and feel unsafe."
The official motive of the latest armed attack and ambush in Šabac is still not known, and the investigation of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office should determine whether it is a continuation of old clashes in the underground or a more recent conflict.
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