Assassin's Bullet Claims Jailed Montenegrin Gangster

In the latest violence related to drug clans clashes in the Montenegrin resort of Kotor, a jailed alleged drugs gang member was killed by an unknown sniper while outdoors in the yard of the high security state prison in Podgorica on Thursday evening.

Police blocked the street surrounding the Spuz prison and raided the area to try to locate the assassin, but only found a car set on fire near the prison.

Police confirmed that the victim was Dalibor Djuric, believed to be a boss of the Skaralji clan in Kotor, a resort town plagued by gang violence in recent months.

"After the shooting, the prison management informed the police and the competent Prosecutor's Office, which has launched an investigation," the Prison Administration said.

Djuric had been in jail since October 2014 after being guilty of extortion. He was accused of various other drug-related crimes and even killings in both Serbia and Montenegro but those charges were never proved in court.

During his trial in Kotor in 2014, both Djuric and the police officers who were escorting him were placed under increased security because of fears that he might be targeted while coming to and from the courthouse.

The prison yard assassination is the third drugs-related killing in a few months, after a bomb blast killed two alleged members of drug gangs in September,.

Calls are growing for the Montenegrin authorities to do more to stop the continuing violence in the town.

Five people have been killed since early 2015 in aparent clashes between the rival Skaljari and Kavac clans, named after neighbourhoods in Kotor.

In an interview with BIRN, Goran Danilovic, Montenegro's Interior Minister, said gang violence in Kotor had worsened because the...