Nikolai-Minev Radev (; 29 January 1959 – 15 April 2003), nicknamed The Russian, was a Bulgarian

career criminal A habitual offender, repeat offender, or career criminal is a person convicted of a crime who was previously convicted of other crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enha ...

and

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

who was involved in crime in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia.

Biography

Nik Radev relocated from his native

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(then known as the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

) to Australia in the early 1980s where he was granted refugee status. Unbeknownst to the Australian authorities, he already had an extensive criminal record in Bulgaria and had served time in both Bulgarian and Turkish prisons. Radev had a notoriety for his sadistic and ruthless behavior. He was known to terrorize his extortion clients until they complied with his demands. It was reported that he once

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

a man who owed him money in front of the man's own wife and children. During his life he was jailed for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

, threats to kill,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

, firearm offences, armed robbery and drug charges. According to police he was an enforcer for the Melbourne head of the

Russian mafia The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

, robbing drug dealers. Radev was shot and killed in Queen St

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

on 15 April 2003, as part of a series of similar events that are commonly referred to as the

Melbourne gangland killings The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power vac ...

. He was shot seven times in the head and chest in front of his bodyguard after he stood out from his black

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

CLK 500 convertible. A third person in Nik Radev's entourage was driving a light green 2000

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Cam ...

CSI sedan parked directly in front of his Mercedes-Benz near the corner of Queen & Reynard Streets, Coburg also witnessed the murder.

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

told ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' that they believed his 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

Ford Falcon The Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate by Ford Motor Company, Ford that applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford ...

XR6 Turbo 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 Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

clothing and a $20,000 watch, and was buried in a gold-plated coffin.

Victorian Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

suspect that

Andrew Veniamin Andrew Benjamin (Benji) Veniamin (16 November 1975 – 23 March 2004) was an Australian criminal from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A convicted car thief, Veniamin was a key figure in the Melbourne underworld killings, suspected of both murde ...

and Carl Williams were behind the killing.

Popular culture

Radev was portrayed by

Don Hany Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian film, television and stage actor. He has received a number of accolades and nominations. He won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor, playing the protagonist, Zane Malik, in the SBS serie ...

in the Australian TV series ''

Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * U ...

'' and the subsequent telemovie '' Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here''.

References

External links

Wise guys, tough guys, dead guys
John Silvester, ''The Age'' 14 December 2003
Why gangland's bloody code is hard to crack
John Silvester, ''The Age'' 20 April 2003

Steve Butcher, ''

'' 23 December 2003
New lead in Bulgarian Nik's killing
John Silvester ''The Age'' 13 December 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Radev, Nik 1959 births 2003 deaths Australian gangsters Bulgarian emigrants to Australia Bulgarian people imprisoned abroad Bulgarian people murdered abroad Bulgarian refugees Criminals from Melbourne Deaths by firearm in Victoria (state) Murdered Bulgarian gangsters Prisoners and detainees of Bulgaria Unsolved murders in Australia Victims of the Melbourne gangland killings People convicted of robbery People convicted of assault People convicted of blackmail Bulgarian gangsters

Biography

Popular culture

See also

References

External links