*ep starts at 18 mins

The Serbian mafia has its origins in the arrival of increasing numbers of

Yugoslavian immigrants to Western Europe in the 1970’s and 1980s. Operating in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France, groups of Serbian expatriates engaged in a pattern of robberies and thefts. Much of this was supported by the communist Yugoslavian intelligence service, who employed gangsters overseas as informants and assassins, and in exchange provided them with firearms and legal protection. The combination of Yugoslavian government support and the money earned from brazen heists, made Yugoslavian criminals some of the most powerful in Western Europe in the 1980s.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern and Southern Europe, many Serbian criminals overseas returned to Yugoslavia, taking advantage of the chaos to embark on new criminal careers. Many served in paramilitary and militia organisations created ostensibly to protect ethnic Serbs and government property, but quickly they became known for criminal activity and their role in the ethnic cleansing of Bosnians, Croats and Slovenes from Serb territories.

With the end of the Yugoslav wars, these militias became entwined with the criminal “clans” of Serbia, with both enjoying the support of the former communist intelligence and security forces. With the overthrow of Slobodon Milosovic, a period of reform was ushered in. In response, the most violent and powerful Serbian crime group - the Zemun Clan - partnered with Serbian special forces to assassinate the Prime Minister, in order to protect the status and privilege that they are garnered during the bloodshed of the 1990s

Guest is Dave Williamson @davewcomedy

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