Fugitive facing armed robbery charges to be returned to Malta, following arrest at Croatia-Serbia border

A man charged in connection with the armed robbery of a couple at their Naxxar residence, a year ago, has been arrested on the Croatia-Serbia border, after having absconded from Malta while on bail.

This newspaper is informed that Vladimir Pajic, 27, from Serbia was apprehended by Croatian police on October 24, while trying to cross the border into Serbia. He was arrested on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Maltese authorities and is expected to be returned to Malta in the coming weeks.

In November 2022, Pajic had been charged with theft aggravated by violence, means and amount, together with Victor Markovic, 40, from Serbia and Milica Kurcubic, 30, from France.

During the arraignment, the court was told that Pajic and the other men had broken into an apartment in Naxxar, inside which were a 42-year-old Dutch man and a 29-year-old French woman. The robbers had tied up the occupants and demanded they hand over money and other items, at gunpoint. 

The man was stabbed in the abdomen and suffered a chipped tooth when one of the robbers shoved a handgun into his mouth.

Over €2,300 in cash and valuables were stolen in the robbery.

Investigations indicated that the woman who had been in the apartment with the victim was, in fact, an accomplice, who had conspired with the thieves to rob the victim. 

Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Maurice Meli are representing the victim as parte civile.

Pajic is not the only one of the alleged robbers to have had further trouble with the law since then. Markovic was arrested again in August this year, in connection with a failed attempt to rob Paschalino Cefai - himself no stranger to violent crime - at gunpoint in Cefai’s home. Cefai had fought back, biting off part of Markovic’s nose for his troubles.