Hitmen working for a criminal group active in Montenegro and Serbia used open-source intelligence techniques, poring over apartment listing sites, satellite images, and tourist photos posted online, to track down and kill the leader of a rival clan as he hid out in Greece.
Montenegrin crime boss Alan Kožar had taken great pains to stay alive, as a war with a rival clan left a trail of blood across Europe. But in the end, a simple sunburn helped get him killed.
Kožar was hiding out on the Greek island of Corfu in the summer of 2020, using an encrypted text messaging app to keep in touch with his crew.
“I slept badly — I got sunburned yesterday and kept waking up,” Kožar wrote.
“Brother, they say yogurt is good,” one of his associates replied. “So cover yourself in it, if it doesn’t bother you.”
“I have yogurt, I’ll spread it on myself now,” Kožar answered.
Read more: OCCRP
