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The gruesome discovery outside Belgrade on Thursday was shocking enough on its own: a missing man’s remains found buried in a barrel. But it is the identity of the suspected accomplice that has plunged Serbia into a profound political and institutional crisis: the top police chief of the nation's capital.
Veselin Milić, the recently ousted Chief of the Police Administration for the City of Belgrade, is now at the center of a sprawling criminal investigation into a brazen gangland murder and a highly coordinated cover-up. The discovery of the body in the town of Inđija brings a grim resolution to a week-long search for Aleksandar Nešović, who vanished following a May 12 shootout at a Belgrade restaurant.
As forensic teams conduct DNA testing to formally confirm the victim's identity, the public's attention has pivoted to the breathtaking involvement of one of the highest ranks of local law enforcement.
Prosecutors and local media accounts paint a chilling portrait of a police chief who allegedly used his ultimate authority to help lay a deadly trap.
According to the official prosecution timeline, Milić was already at a Belgrade restaurant on the night of May 12 with another man, Saša Vuković—former police officer—and an accomplice. Authorities allege that the police chief personally called Nešović to the venue under the guise of mediating a dispute.
Crucially, prosecutors say Milić explicitly advised Nešović—a man whom regional media has tied to a notoriously violent criminal syndicate known as "Keka's group"—to leave his security detail behind.
During the ensuing argument, Vuković allegedly fired multiple rounds at Nešović with a pistol that had been illegally smuggled into the restaurant by Vuković's wife. The gunfire killed Nešović and endangered other guests in the restaurant's fireplace room.
What happened next, according to the media, transformed a mob hit into an unprecedented law enforcement scandal.
While the suspected shooter and his accomplice fled, media reports allege that Police Chief Milić stayed behind at the crime scene to systematically delete the restaurant's surveillance footage. Other corrupt officers allegedly assisted in removing the body, which was ultimately found stuffed in the excavated barrel in Inđija.
The official investigation has revealed an extensive alleged conspiracy within the Belgrade police force. Prosecutors have confirmed they are investigating 10 individuals, including Milić, three other police officers, and three civilians.
Milić has been formally charged with failing to report a crime and assisting a perpetrator in evading justice. He was ordered held in a 30-day pretrial detention to prevent him from influencing witnesses or repeating the offense. On May 15, Serbia's Interior Ministry officially announced he had been stripped of his position as Belgrade's police chief.
The suspects in the shooting did not remain on the run for long. On May 14, authorities arrested Vuković and his suspected accomplice in a Belgrade suburb. A search of their getaway vehicle yielded passports and 10,000 euros in cash. They now face charges of aggravated murder.
In tandem with the homicide probe, prosecutors have launched a sweeping financial investigation into Vuković, ordering state agencies to scour his assets for evidence of money laundering.
The Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that it had ordered 70 expert forensic evaluations to piece together the full scope of the crime. Authorities have seized 10 vehicles, two dozen mobile phones, multiple computers, and hard drives.
The fallout from the scandal has severely rattled the Serbian government. Opposition leaders are demanding the immediate resignation of top officials, pointing to the police chief's alleged involvement as proof of deep, systemic rot tying state authorities to organized crime.
Seeking to quell public outrage and counter media narratives of a delayed response, prosecutors emphasized that they were actively investigating the restaurant scene within hours of Nešović's wife reporting him missing.
"Anyone involved in the murder or its concealment," the prosecutor's office vowed, "will face justice."
