Nikolai Radev ( bg, Николай "Ник" Радев; 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 crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enhanced o ...

and

mobster A gangster 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 of organization and ...

who was involved in crime in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia.

Biography

During his life he was jailed for assault, blackmail, threats to kill,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of 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. Radev was shot and killed in Queen St

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

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 va ...

. 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 as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

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 Camry ...

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 state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

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, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' 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 Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate 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 Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...

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 fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...

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 state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 po ...

suspect that

Andrew Veniamin Andrew "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 murdering sev ...

and Carl Williams were behind the killing.

Popular culture

Radev was portrayed by

Don Hany Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role in the series ''White Collar Blue'', Dr. Chris Havel in ''Offspring'', and the leading role of Zane Malik in the SBS series '' East West 101''. He is also ...

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 * ...

'' 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 organised crime figures Bulgarian emigrants to Australia Bulgarian people imprisoned abroad Bulgarian people murdered abroad Bulgarian refugees Criminals from Melbourne Deaths by firearm in Victoria (Australia) 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

Biography

Popular culture

See also

References

External links