Nik Radev
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part of the series on Australian criminals |
|
|
|
International |
Nikolai "The Russian" Radev was a Bulgarian refugee who became known as a career criminal in Melbourne.
During his life he was jailed for assault, blackmail, threats to kill, extortion, firearm offences, armed robbery and drug charges. According to police he was an enforcer for the Melbourne head of the Russian mafia, robbing drug dealers at gunpoint and that he also had access to a machine-gun.
Radev was shot and killed in Queen St Coburg on April 15, 2003 as part of the Melbourne gangland killings.
He was shot seven times in the head and chest as he sat in his Mercedes coupé. Victoria Police told The Age that they believed is death was planned by a father and son drug manufacturing team, and a hitman suspected of four other murders carried out the killing in a red sedan. His associates Damien Cossu and Alfonso Traglia were with Radev at the time of the murder but claimed they could not identify the gunman, and were subsequently named by police as 'persons of interest'
Despite only having worked for eight months during the 1980s, at a fish and chip shop, Radev was killed wearing Versace clothing and with a $20 000 watch on, and was laid to rest in a gold-plated coffin.
Victoria Police suspected Andrew Veniamin and Carl Williams were behind the killing
[edit] References
- ↑ Wise guys, tough guys, dead guys John Silvester, The Age December 14, 2003
- ↑ Why gangland's bloody code is hard to crack John Silvester, The Age April 20, 2003
- ↑ Six named in underworld investigations Steve Butcher, The Age December 23, 2003
- ↑ New lead in Bulgarian Nik's killing John Silvester The Age December 13, 2003
[edit] Sources
- Nik 'The Russian' Radiv Crime Scene - Melbourne Underworld (An online reference guide from the Crime Writers Association of Australia)