Mafia murder contract trial in Vienna: Court faces an explosive decision!

Mafia murder contract trial in Vienna: Court faces an explosive decision!

An unprecedented case from the mafia milieu is currently being dealt with in the Vienna regional court. The 29-year-old defendant, Stefan K., is under heavy guard and is accompanied by six judicial security officers. The prosecution speaks of murder, torture and a series of other crimes committed as part of the ongoing conflict between Montenegrin clans, particularly the Skaljari clan and the Kavac clan. This rivalry, which has existed since 2014, has already cost around 80 people their lives in Europe, including through assassination attempts such as the failed one in winter 2018 in front of a well-known Viennese restaurant.

The trial revolves around a planned assassination attempt that was thwarted by fortunate circumstances. According to a report by Krone.at The original intention was to murder two members of the Kavac clan. An initial car bomb attack failed due to low battery power, and communication problems between the hitmen meant that the targets survived. Stefan K. is said to have acted as an “observer” and selected the time for the attack after traveling from Montenegro on March 8, 2020.

Failed murder plots

Federal criminal investigators were able to uncover the failed plot, which involved a double murder involving a car bomb and Colombian contract killers in the spring of 2020. The bomb maker had technical difficulties, so the planned attack on February 22, 2020 could not be carried out as desired. One of the targets escaped unharmed, while the BKA secured a large number of chat messages that showed that civilian casualties were taken into account.

Stefan K.'s defense criticizes the evidence based on decrypted crypto chats transmitted by French authorities. This type of surveillance is not permitted in Austria. Nevertheless, in March 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed that the use of evidence in a similar case was legal. The jury seems to believe that the defendant is innocent, which is why the pre-trial detention could end.

The background of the clan conflict

The violence and attempted murders between the Montenegrin clans must be placed in the larger context of organized crime. Loud Berlin newspaper There are a total of 821 serious criminal networks active in the EU that pose a serious threat to security and the rule of law. Over 25,000 members of these gangs are involved in drug trafficking, fraud and other crimes, with the lack of official monitoring capabilities hampering the work of the police.

In this specific case, complex questions arise about the efficiency and possibilities of criminal prosecution. Andreas Holzer, the head of the BKA, is calling for expanded surveillance of communications services in order to better support the police in the fight against organized crime. The developments in the clan structure also show that these groups are internationally networked and act in a highly professional manner, which makes it more difficult to combat their machinations.

The current trial in Vienna makes it clear how dangerous the entanglements between international criminal clans are and how important it is to take action against these networks. The outcome of this case could set the tone for the future handling of such cases.