Montenegro organized‑crime clan feud

On 2 August 2026, Jovan Mrvaljević, a senior figure in the Škaljars criminal clan, was shot dead in the Kapino Polje settlement near Nikšić, Montenegro. Police from the Regional Center for Security West and the State Prosecutor’s Office launched a full investigation, searching for the unknown shooter. The killing is being examined as either part of the long‑running feud between the Škaljars and rival Kavački clans or an internal dispute within the Škaljars group.

The murder adds to a series of organized‑crime‑related homicides recorded in Montenegro the previous year. A Ministry of Internal Affairs report listed five murders and two additional killings linked to organized‑crime groups, bringing the total death toll from clan clashes to eight. Authorities have filed criminal complaints against several suspects, including Serbian citizen Nikola Mirić, and continue to pursue leads to curb the violence that has persisted for more than a decade.

Investigators are also revisiting earlier cases involving Mrvaljević, such as a 2021 plot to assassinate Serbian gangsters and a 2020 allegation of police torture that led to a trial and acquittal of officers in July 2026. The authorities say they are applying all legally prescribed measures to determine the circumstances of the killing and to bring the perpetrators to justice.