Police have revealed new leads, including a link with a Melbourne organised crime figure, as they investigate the murder of convicted drug dealer Saso Ristevski.
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Mr Ristevski’s brutal death is one of three Illawarra killings being investigated by the NSW Homicide Squad detective-led Strike Force Calligan.
Mr Ristevski, 37, was shot dead in front of his family after being confronted by a group of males at his parents’ home – in Barina Avenue, Lake Heights – about 8.30pm on September 28, 2011.
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Laidlaw, from the Homicide Squad, said detectives believed Mr Ristevski’s murder was the catalyst for a number of other organised crime-related incidents in the region.
“Our investigations have centred on a number of people of Balkan background, but in the case of Mr Ristevski’s murder we now believe a number of people of non-Balkan background, including people of Pacific Islander and Caucasian appearance, may have been involved,” Det Ch Insp Laidlaw said.
“We also have information that there are links to an organised crime figure from Melbourne. “That includes links between the firearm used to shoot Mr Ristevski, which we believe was sourced in the Illawarra region, and a firearm seized by police in Victoria later that year.
“Strike Force Calligan detectives are working closely with homicide detectives from Victorian Police as our investigations continue.”
Det Ch Insp Laidlaw reissued a public appeal for information, particularly about a car captured on camera the night Mr Ristevski was murdered. “The silver VS Holden Commodore was seen on CCTV prior to the murder and has distinctive mag wheels which may prompt someone’s memory,” he said.
“We are particularly interested in the identity of the driver and occupants of that vehicle.” Strike Force Calligan detectives are also investigating the disappearance of Goran Nikolovski, 35, who was last seen at his Unanderra home on October 31, 2011.
The shooting death of 32-year-old Darko Janceski in the front yard of his Berkeley home on April 14, 2012 was investigated by the same strike force.
A number of people have been charged over Mr Janceski’s death.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Background on the three Illawarra killings
The brazen killings of three men from Wollongong’s southern suburbs took place over six dramatic months between September 2011 and early April, 2012.
Convicted drug dealer Saso Ristevski was executed in front of his family at his Lake Heights home on September 28, 2011.
Just over a month later, a car belonging to missing Unanderra man Goran Nikolovski – who had been named as an associate of Ristevski during a court appeal in 2007 – was found burnt out at Macquarie Pass on November 1.
Police believe Nikolovski was murdered but his body has never been found, despite extensive searches of bushland in the Illawarra escarpment.
Four days after the car was found, on November 5, the home of Berkeley man Darko Janceski was firebombed.
Then, on Janaury 29, Janceski was shot in the thigh in an attack unrelated to his subsequent shooting death.
The 32-year-old was gunned down in daylight outside his parents' home in Gannet Ave, Berkeley on April 12.
In 2013, when discussing the work of Strike Force Calligan police claimed Janceski’s shooting death was payback for the murder of Nikolovski.
They alleged Nikolovski had links with the Comancheros, while Mr Janceski was a disenfranchised member. However they said the outlaw motorcycle gang had not been involved in the death of Janceski.
The police arrested Matthew Paul Wiggans, who is accused of murdering Janceski. Wiggans is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to the charge.
Robert Nikolovski, who is the brother of Goran, has also been charged with being an accessory before the fact to murder and is due to have a committal hearing on December 17 and 18.