Spy chief's revelation blows open mystery of Jill Dando's unsolved murder
Serbian ex-spyboss Dragan Filipović has revealed that he masterminded a 'secret reprisal action' in the spring of 1999 that caused 'great confusion in Europe'
Milorad Ulemek's former spymaster has admitted that one of his commandos carried out an attack abroad at around the time Jill Dando was killed.
Dragan Filipović, was a leading member the Serbian security services when he masterminded a "secret reprisal action" in the spring of 1999 that caused "great confusion in Europe". At the time, Ulemek, then 31, led the unit Filipović used to target opponents of brutal Serb dictator Slobadan Milosevic. The Yugoslav war was raging and UK planes were bombing Serbia when Jill was shot dead on her doorstep on April 26, 1999. Within hours of her murder, the BBC took a call claiming the death was in response.
A man said: "Tell your Prime Minister, in Belgrade 15 people were killed, so 14 more to go." It was feared that the former Crimewatch presenter had been targeted because she had fronted a charity appeal for Kosovan refugees 20 days earlier.
Filipović revealed that he had dispatched several of his special forces soldiers into Europe to carry out revenge killings in response to the bombings which began on March 24, 1999.
Known as Major Fića, he wrote: "Among others, Serbs were suspected as potential perpetrators, which resulted in a hunt and increased control of Yugoslav citizens." A source with knowledge of the Serbian security services told the Daily Mirror he is convinced Filipović's claim is true.
He said: "I have very little doubt that this assassination was planned and executed by some circles in Serbia."
It comes as police are being urged to launch a review after a van driver said a man he nearly hit close to Jill's home looked like Ulemek. And a female witness told us last year that she was certain she had seen the two-time convicted killer on the same stretch of road.
The Mirror can reveal that British security officials gave five warnings that Serbian commandos might be planning attacks abroad before Jill was murdered. Recently declassified documents show concerns were raised repeatedly by the MoD and Nato in April 1999.
None of the secret files were made available to the Met Police team investigating Jill's murder, it is understood. In a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal made on April 6, Jill called Kosovo a "former Yugoslavian region", a description that would have enraged ultra-nationalist Filipovic who saw it as the "cradle" of his country.
In his 2008 book "Anatomy of the Globalist Stink", Filipović railed against non-governmental organizations which he says were based on the doctrine of "special war" and were designed to destabilise foreign leaders in the interests of the West.
Jill's BBC appeal was on behalf of some of the UK's largest NGOs, potentially making her a legitimate target in Filipovic's warped view. The Serbian source said of Jill's appeal: "It could be perceived as part of a 'special war' against Milosevic and Serbia and the secret service could have taken some [action]."
At the time Milorad "Legija" Ulemek was a senior member of the Jedinica za specijalne operacije (JSO) - a 500-man unit of the Serbian Intelligence Service that Filipovic founded and selected his operatives from.
The source said that it was Filipović, now in his 60s, who headhunted Ulemek for his JSO unit after they met while fighting in Croatia and Bosnia during the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s. Filipović persuaded the former French Foreign Legion soldier to shift allegiances from warlord Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan's Serbian Volunteer Guard, or Tigers, the source said.
Major Fića, was believed to have accompanied Ulemek when he attempted to assassinate Serb politician Vuk Draskovic in October 1999, the source added. Ulemek later told a court that he contacted Filipović's boss to make himself available for a "special operation" on April 15, 1999, eleven days before Jill was killed.
The ruthless killer said that he was fighting in Kosovo when he made the offer to the head of the security services, Radomir Markovic. Markovic and Ulemek are serving 40 years in jail for plotting two assassinations for brutal dictator Milosevic, who died in 2006, and his powerful nationalist wife Mira Markovic.
Known as the "Lady Macbeth of the Balkans", Filipović was close to Mira who was suspected of plotting state-sponsored assassinations. She later fled to Russia where she died in 2019.
Mira played a major role in the bloody end of her husband's rule, including the murders of journalist Slavko Curuvija and former president Ivan Stambolic. The source said: "In the terminal phase of the Milosevic government the security services were kidnapped by the people close to his wife and that notorious inner circle. In their criminal minds the idea was conceived of eliminating political opponents and journalists."
One of a handful of European Kung Fu masters to train with Shaolin monks, Filipović is understood to have fled to China as Curuvija's killers were arrested. He revealed in his book that he was Special Advisor to Radomir Markovic in 1999.
Filipović said his boss, then head of the Serbian State Security Services, known as "DB", gave him "full independence" and granted him all the personnel, spying technology and cash he needed.
Filipović wrote: "My responsibilities included planning, organizing and carrying out special intelligence and subversive actions against NATO member states, as well as states that supported them during the attack on Yugoslavia, with the aim of endangering their political stability and combat readiness. The tasks particularly included secret reprisal actions deep inside enemy territory."
He also provides an insight into how his unit worked by revealing details of an operation that was aborted. After the Nato bombing started, Filipović sent another JSO soldier to assassinate American billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who he described as a "fanatical enemy of the Serbian people".
He saw Soros, who has spent billions funding NGOs promoting progressive and liberal causes around the world, as being behind a sinister globalist network.
Filipović claimed: "In a situation where the NATO aggression, which Soros was the initiator of, was taking place intensively, the justification of a radical approach towards him was not questioned."
He said that it was established that Soros, now 94, was planning to visit a "small attractive tourist spot" in an unnamed European country that he occasionally visited.
The experienced hitman chosen for that task, codenamed "Mongoose", knew "the language and culture" of the target country and had "many friendly connections there". Ulemek spoke good English having lived in London as a young man and had a number of contacts in the UK, the source said.
In one of the many books he has penned in prison, entitled The Boys from Brazil, Ulemek writes about fighting for the JSO with an artillery expert called "Mongoose" in Kosovo in the spring of 1999. The two chapters for that year only cover March and May. There is no entry for April.
"Mongoose" has been identified in the Serbian media as former JSO soldier Milenko Prodanović. Filipović said of Mongoose: "He was trained to use unconventional means suitable for carrying out this task, which was significant, because due to intensified police controls, moving around Europe with any standard weapons was almost impossible."
The bespoke ammunition used to kill Jill had never been seen before in the UK. And experts were unable to specify what type of gun was used due to the lack of markings on the bullet, raising the possibility it was also a customised pistol that could be smuggled across borders. Ulemek, now 57, is nicknamed "Legoinnaire" because he was an ex-sergeant in the French Foreign Legion where he specialied in sniper combat and sabotage.
Filipović said Mongoose crossed into Europe illegally before travelling overland to his final destination. It is likely Ulemek would have done the same thing, using his connections with gangsters involved in cigarette smuggling to enter Europe by boat through Italy, the source said.
Filipović wrote that he was ordered to halt the plots by Markovic in June 1999, when a peace treaty was signed. He wrote: "In the meantime, one of the previously initiated actions, although with considerable delay, was successfully implemented, which caused a great confusion in Europe."
He does not specify what the "radical action" was, though the clear implication is that it was a state-sponsored assassination. Mr Soros did not reply when we contacted his Open Society Foundations.
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Scottish Sun
25 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control
Ben's mum was lured into the cult and gave her son up to be part of a 'master race' CULT OF BLONDE My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control BEN Shenton was just 18 months old when his mother gave him up to a well-spoken blonde woman who swore she'd give him the best life possible. Little did she know her decision would put Ben through years of abuse at the hands of a woman who believed she was Jesus Christ reborn. 9 Ben Shenton was handed over to a cult leader Credit: BBC 9 Anne Hamilton-Bryne's 'children' were forced to bleach their hair and wear matching clothes Credit: BBC Handout 9 Anne believed she was Jesus Christ reborn and became the leader of the notorious Australian cult Images of Ben show a happy young boy, but the reality was entirely different - as the youngster was forced to become part of a notorious cult known as 'The Family'. 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She met English physicist Dr Raynor Johnson in 1963 and the following year, they set up a group dedicated to spreading a surreal combination of Christianity and Hinduism, with Hamilton-Byrne at its centre. Her final husband, Bill, became the person who led the doomsday cult with her in the 1960s, when the world faced existential threats like nuclear warfare, the Vietnam War and the spread of communism. Anne was able to rope people into the cult through yoga lessons, meetings at her house once a week, and then three times a week, until she built the compound on land near her house for them to move into. Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land' Anne came across as beautiful, well-spoken and nurturing, so it's no surprise Ben's mum was easily convinced he'd have a better life with her. 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She and husband Hamilton-Byrne took children through illegal adoptions, allowing the cult to grow in numbers before imprisoning them in a strict home-schooling environment at a rural property near Eildon in Victoria. 9 At one point, Anne had 28 children in her care Credit: Label Distribution 9 She convinced parents to give her their children Using lawyers, social workers, and doctors to forgo official channels, they were able to forge birth documents and raise over a dozen children to believe they were the birth children of the Hamilton-Byrnes. When children were born inside the compound to cult members, they were raised to believe their birth mothers were instead among a handful of 'aunts', who gave out brutal punishments for whatever they saw fit. PICTURE PERFECT FAMILY From the outside, the family looked picture-perfect as they lived on their compound in Victoria, Australia. Life at Kai Lama seemed healthy and even advanced for its years; it featured yoga, exercise, vegetarian meals, meditation and education. Ben lived on the remote property and was raised alongside dozens of other children for 13 years and recalls living with 28 other kids at one point. "Growing up, it was Anne and Bill, they were mum and dad; and then there were foster kids, and they were kids of other sect members, who would either come up on weekends or stay there for stints of a couple of years," Ben, told the BBC. "The greatest amount of kids at any given stage was 28," he added. Anne and Bill brought up the children as their own, even dressing them in matching outfits and dying their hair bleach blond to appear like a real family. I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. Anne Hamilton-Byrne "We were her children. We were different ages. We'd line up von Trapp style (like) The Sound of Music, which we'd watch, dressed in outfits that matched and that was just what we were asked to do," he told the True Crimes Conversation podcast. "You look back on that and you see it's choreographed. "It crafted a belief that she had these children, which she didn't. We were all either adopted or handed over." In an interview years after the children were finally taken from her, Anne said: 'I wanted them to look like brothers and sisters - I must admit this. 'I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. It was beautiful - it was lovely to see.' Asked why she imprisoned 28 children over two decades, she responded: 'I love children.' 9 Ben Shenton pictured after being removed from the cult Credit: Ben Shenton 9 Ben (pictured front right) and his 'silbings' were the targets of abuse for years Credit: BBC UNDER WRAPS But in reality, the children were subjected to years of beatings, mind games, isolation, and forced to take drugs by the cult leader, who had convinced more than 500 people she was Jesus Christ. The couple had convinced their followers they were making a 'master race' while teaching a mixture of Christianity and Hinduism. Ben recalls one form of torture Anne liked to perform on the children was waterboarding. It's a method of torture that creates such horrific psychological pain that its use has even been banned in the US military. "We were all lined up. We were belted. Our head held under the bucket of water, interrogated," he said. "Held there until you thought you were suffocating, brought back out again. "Horrendous experience. It caused nightmares. "These things shape your personality." Ben recalls seeing his siblings being beaten with a belt, and says they were given LSD 'as part of an initiation ritual.' 'I was watching her being belted with a buckle and she's being beaten to the point where she's wriggling out of her clothes,' he said of his sister, Sarah. 'Hearing her body smash across the balustrades - it was horrendous to know they had the power to do that and would do it,' he told the MailOnline. She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative. Ben Shenton Ben says Anne's most effective tactic was to keep the children from forming bonds with each other to keep them all in line. To weed out misdeeds in the children, Anne would perform group interrogations by beating them until someone came clean. Ben said he stayed compliant to avoid punishment. "This was the evil genius of her. She understood that if she could separate us, isolate us, make it so that we couldn't build relationships with one another and punish us, then she could control us," he said. "Anyone who's lived under domestic violence will know the living with fear, the walking on eggshells, the currying favour of those in authority, or the absolute rejection of them, the hatred of them, the love-hate relationship. "It's domestic abuse on steroids," he said. Now, Ben believes Anne was a sociopath or psychopath. "She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative," he said. 'The Family' Cult Timeline 1968 The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. 1974 An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. 1978 Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. 1983 Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. 1987 (14 August) Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. The children are removed from the sect and placed into care. 1987 (Oct/Nov) Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. 1987 (12 December) Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. 1989 (about June) Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. 1989 (11 December) Operation Forest Task Force commences. Operation Forest Task Force commences. 1993 (4 June) Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. 1993 (17 August) Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. 1993 (31 August) Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. 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"What Anne did was evil. She used the name of Christ to give herself validity. She used a belief system," Ben said. "Justice was not done." 9 Now Ben educates others on manipulation after his own experience Credit: SBS Productions
BBC News
30 minutes ago
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Concerns as park left 'churned up' after BBC Radio 1 event
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Ex-BBC star is fined £600 for leaving scene of an accident after her Range Rover crashed into Mazda which ended up in a ditch
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