Arrest of trainer John Nikolic looms as breakthrough in the stalled Les Samba murder probe
THE dramatic drug arrest of horse trainer John Nikolic looms as a breakthrough in the stalled Les Samba murder investigation.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE dramatic drug arrest of horse trainer John Nikolic looms as a breakthrough in the stalled Les Samba murder investigation.
A close friend of racing figure Samba, shot dead in an ambush in Middle Park in 2011, says the arrest of Nikolic — revealed in last week’s Sunday Herald Sun — is potentially a boost for detectives.
RELATED: NIKOLIC CREWMAN NARROWLY ESCAPED DRUG ARREST
NIKOLIC FAMILY HOLED UP IN LOW-RENT HOTEL IN FIJI
EX-TRAINER NIKOLIC ONE OF RACING’S MOST FEARED MEN
Nikolic is now fighting for life in a Fijian hospital. He has previously denied any role in the Samba execution.
But the friend of the murdered trainer says anyone involved in that crime will now have good reason to be concerned.
“There would be some nervous people in Melbourne,” he said.
“This is their (the police’s) best chance of cracking the case open.”
A $1 million reward remains in place for anyone able to help convict the killers of Samba.
The friend said he believed his mate was going to meet a woman when he left the Crown Metropol hotel on the night of February 27 seven years ago.
He said he had always been suspicious about why he ended up at Middle Park: “Why couldn’t he meet that person at the Metropol?”
Members of an international organised crime cell as well as violent Melbourne criminals linked to drug trafficking and race-fixing have been investigated over the Samba killing.
Police have targeted Nikolic too. They raided his Gold Coast home just weeks after the murder.
Nikolic is the brother of champion jockey Danny, the former husband of Samba’s daughter, Victoria.
He remains in intensive care in a Fiji hospital after swallowing toxic material as his yacht Shenanigans was raided.
Wife Yvette has been charged over the bust. Customs officials pounced when the couple sailed into port in Fiji.
They found cocaine and ecstasy valued at $20 million, $20,000 in cash and guns on board.
The Samba case has been a long, tangled investigation with many people and theories examined. The Herald Sun revealed in April that Sydney businessman Ron Medich — another of Samba’s mates — was a person of interest.
But the friend said he did not believe Medich was responsible, because he would have known that Samba did early-morning work around an Adelaide racetrack daily.
“Why wouldn’t he have him killed there in the dark? Why would he have it done on a major road in Melbourne?” Samba’s friend said.
Victoria Police declined to comment.