Assassination of Ivo Pukanić

President of Croatia Stjepan Mesić said the attack meant "terrorism has become a fact on the streets of Zagreb."[4] He went on to state Pukanić feared for his life before the accident. According to Mesić's words, Mirjana Pukanić called Mesić to ask Ivo Pukanić to send her some money. Mesić called Ivo and, aside from Mirjana's request, inquired about the police investigation of the April assassination attempt. Pukanić replied that the police have not made much progress since the crime itself, but he added that he was in a great fear for his life. Mesić declared that he was not aware what were the reasons and who were the authors of the threats. He recommended the police to interrogate Mirjana Pukanić, although he did not publicly state what she would be able to say. He also said he would be willing to subject to a police interrogation himself.[15] Mirjana Pukanić was vexed by President Mesić's recommendations and the claim about begging for Ivo Pukanić's money. She stated she has lived in a women's shelter for six months without money, and that she only asked Mesić to speed up the divorce process started by her.[16]

In a special news conference following the assassination, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader at first declined the possibility of introducing a state of emergency. However, the following day Sanader approved the proposal and ordered 250 additional police officers to the city. He called the killing an "assassination" as he vowed to fight Serbian mafia crime that threatens his country's attempt to join the EU. Sanader said the police authority would be widened, trials would be speeded up, and a DNA database for convicted criminals would be created. During the state of emergency, the police would also have the right to confiscate illegally obtained property.[5][17]

The announcement of the state of emergency was quickly followed by a release of a facial composite of the man from the crime scene and a large police operation, which resulted in 9 arrests in Zagreb and 20 in Rijeka during its first day. The chief of Croatian police, Vladimir Faber, stated all figures from Croatian underground connected to Pukanić will be interrogated.[18]

Pukanić, an influential and controversial person in Croatian politics, was already targeted in a murder attempt on April 9, 2008 in western downtown Zagreb, near Franjo Tuđman Square. He was shot at with a silenced pistol at close range. Pukanić crouched as the perpetrator pointed his gun at him and successfully dodged the bullet, which created a hole in the window of a nearby gift shop. The perpetrator's gun subsequently jammed, enabling Pukanić to pull his legally-owned Glock 17 out of his bag. Pukanić fired a warning shot, causing the perpetrator to flee the crime scene.[26] A facial composite of the perpetrator, who was unmasked and wore a dark knitted cap, was publicly released five days after the attack.[27]

The police suspected the attempt to be a warning to Pukanić, intended to discourage him from certain activities. Police protection was assigned to Pukanić immediately following the event. However, it was lifted on August 1, 2008, just over two and a half months before the October 23 bombing, as there were no further threats in the months following the assassination attempt.[28]

On October 30 police arrested five suspects aligned with the Serbian mobster Sreten "Joca Amsterdam" Jocić for Pukanić's assassination. The suspects were Robert and Luka Matanić, Amir Mafalani, Slobodan "Boban" Đurović and Milenko "Mića" Kuzmanović. Mafalani was arrested in his apartment and the other four were arrested on the Bajakovo border crossing, trying to escape Croatia.[36][37][38]

The day before the All Saints Day police filed all points bulletins and subsequently arrested two known Serbian mobsters and criminals, Bojan "Bajone" Gudurić and Željko "Letač" Milovanović. Milovanović is known in Serbia for robbing a post office in Beočin (near Novi Sad, Serbia) in 2005. After the robbery he escaped the police. He was subsequently tracked and arrested in front of a Tuzla hospital. However, Milovanović made another spectacular escape a few days later, while being transported to a medical examination. Bojan Gudurić is known for having committed over 15 armed robberies all over Vojvodina while leading an organized crime group. His most publicized robbery was the robbery of the Ekspres Gas company in Novi Sad, where he and several of his masked accomplices forcibly took money from the company safe by threatening workers and staff by pistols.[39]

Days after the arrest and after a scandal involving Luka Pilipović, the attorney representing Matanić cousins and Mafalani, Robert Matanić offered a testimony to uncover the contractors of the assassination. He testified that Milovanović and Gudurić organized the assassination and that he, his cousin and Mafalani assisted them in preparations for the assassination. Mafalani allegedly obtained an apartment at the intersection of Petrinjska and Jurišićeva streets, a high-traffic location in the vicinity of the crime scene. Matanić was assisted by Velimir "Žvaki" Žak in obtaining several stolen cars and the bomb-fitted motorcycle for Gudurić and Milovanović. Gudurić, a known criminal monitored by the Balkans police forces, used a false name to rent the Jurišićeva Street apartment.[37]

Matanić claimed he was at first unaware of the actual target and that he realized that Pukanić was the victim only a few days after Milovanović mentioned the target to him using Pukanić's nickname "Puki". Matanić also declared he was not present during the assassination, claiming a BMW 7 Series presentation in a car dealership in Folnegovićevo naselje as his alibi. Matanić also arranged the escape of Milovanović and Gudurić to Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, only Milovanović's escape was successful, as Gudurić took off a day later and was subsequently caught by the police.[37]