The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade announced on Thursday that a body has been recovered in the municipality of Inđija, believed to belong to the murder victim whose case triggered the shocking arrest of Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milić.
The discovery follows days of an intensive joint search operation spearheaded by specialized units of the Serbian police and the military.
According to an official statement from the prosecution, the body was found inside a barrel that had been buried in a remote field within the Inđija municipality. The victim is believed to be A.N., the individual whose mysterious disappearance exposed a deeply entrenched network linking active law enforcement to organized crime.
[THE INĐIJA CRIME SCENE & FORENSIC PIPELINE]
• Discovery Asset: Industrial barrel excavated on territory of Inđija municipality.
• Status of Victim: Believed to be A.N., missing target of a multi-day joint police/military search.
• Current Phase: Body transferred to the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Belgrade.
• Mandatory Testing: DNA profiling, forensic autopsy, and toxicological analysis.
The Prosecutor’s Office has issued an emergency order transferring the remains to the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Belgrade for an immediate autopsy and comparative DNA testing to legally confirm the identity.
The Restoran 27 Ambush: Milić’s Role Under the Microscope
The investigation targets 10 suspects facing a wide array of criminal charges directly tied to the murder of A.N. The case sent shockwaves through Serbia’s security sector on May 15, when Veselin Milić, the powerful head of the Belgrade Police Administration, was arrested for his role in covering up the homicide.
The prosecution’s operational timeline reveals a terrifying level of internal institutional corruption:
[THE "RESTOREN 27" AMBUSH TIMELINE]
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Milić sits inside restaurant with two known mafia executioners.
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Milić calls A.N. on his phone, urging him to resolve a "dispute."
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Milić explicitly suggests that A.N. arrive without his private security.
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A.N. enters the venue alone ──> Murdered ──> Body transported and buried in Inđija.
Following his arrest, Milić was immediately dismissed from his post. A Belgrade court subsequently ordered a one-month detention period, ruling that the former police chief presents an extreme flight risk and possesses the network necessary to destroy, hide, or falsify evidence, as well as intimidate key witnesses if released.
Bipartisan Backlash Against Systemic Police Corruption
Milić’s fall from grace is particularly damaging to the current political establishment. He served two distinct terms as Belgrade’s top cop and previously acted as a personal security advisor to the President of Serbia, who awarded him a medal for bravery in 2021.
[VESELIN MILIĆ: RECENT POLICAL PROFILE]
• Professional Status: Two-time Head of the Belgrade Police Administration.
• Executive Role: Former National Security Advisor to the President of Serbia.
• State Honors: Decorated with a Medal for Bravery in 2021.
• Current Status: Dismissed from office, stripped of command, held in high-security detention.
The discovery of the buried barrel in Inđija has reignited a fierce legislative battle on Capitol Hill regarding a proposed police reform bill aimed at aggressively purging Serbia’s law enforcement agencies of criminal elements.
At the same time, the opposition is using the murder to demand a complete systemic overhaul of the Interior Ministry (MUP). They argue that the streets of Belgrade have been left completely vulnerable to gangland warfare due to a profound, treasonous compromise within the police force’s top brass.
