Last year in Kosovo, 18 murders were recorded. Security experts have raised concerns about the motives behind these cases, which are linked to organized crime and illegal activities.
Four people were killed within a single day in August of last year. A triple murder in Gjilan and another killing in Prizren were cases that shocked the entire country.
The main suspect in the triple murder in Gjilan, Mefail Shkodra, is a person with a criminal past, including involvement in loan-sharking. The incident occurred in a café near the Municipality of Gjilan, where, as a result of gunfire, a father and son were killed, and shortly afterward another person who had been seriously wounded also died.
Another murder that occurred within 24 hours in August 2025 was a stabbing in the village of Zhur in Prizren.
During August, another murder was recorded in Hajvali, near Prishtina. In the same month, in the village of Baicë in Lipjan, a person was found dead and buried in a field.
Another killing that shocked Kosovo during the past year was the murder of Kosovo Police Sergeant Muhamed Lika, who was killed at the entrance of his residence in Kaçanik. A few days ago, an indictment was filed against six defendants in connection with Lika’s murder.
The Director General of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, told KosovaPress in an interview that Mefail Shkodra and his sons had a suspicious criminal background.
“In the case of the most recent murder, for example the case in Gjilan where three people were killed, we are dealing with individuals with a suspicious criminal past, whom we had previously processed and arrested for loan-sharking cases, and who were later released due to the limited procedures that Kosovo’s current law provides. We had been investigating and handling the case and had arrested the main suspect; he had been arrested by the Kosovo Police six months earlier. Sometimes the impression is created that within a week three or four murder cases occur. However, when you look at the total number of murders, there has been a decline in murders and other criminal offenses that have occurred in Kosovo over recent years,” Hoxha said.
He further stated that it is impossible to prevent all murder cases.
“Kosovo began its post-war life in the year 2000 with 260 murders. Then the number moved to 170, 158, 130, 150. Last year, 2024, we had only 17 reported murders. This year, 2025, we have 18. That means the decline is very rapid compared to where we were and where we are now, but it is impossible to prevent all murder cases or serious crimes, because the police cannot be everywhere, in every place, every home, every café, every street, every corner. No police force in the world, no matter how organized or professional it is, can enter someone’s criminal mind. What is positive in our cases is that many of the cases reported in recent years have involved issues within families, property disputes, or problems stemming from previous conflicts, and then the individuals encountered each other and the murder occurred,” he added.
The motives behind murders in Kosovo are considered worrying by the Director of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (QKSS), Mentor Vrajolli.
“Mainly, there have been various motives for murders. Those that have been perhaps most concerning are a certain number of murders that have been linked to organized crime and illegal activities, and unfortunately we continue to face such problems, especially loan-sharking, which is one of the most prominent problems reported, and one murder that attracted the most attention during 2025. Therefore, I believe that law enforcement institutions should focus on reducing especially these criminal activities, in order to ensure that we do not have situations like the one in Gjilan,” he said.
According to him, mechanisms should be created to guarantee that citizens can report crimes without being identified by perpetrators.
“I think we need to examine where the problem lies that these loan-sharking cases are not being reported as much as they should be. Is there a problem that perhaps within the structures of security institutions there are elements involved in these activities or close to people engaged in them, which causes victims of these crimes not to dare to report them to law enforcement institutions? This is the first part that must be ensured. At the same time, mechanisms should be created that make it easier for citizens to report these cases without being exposed to the perpetrators, because these are usually individuals who threaten through violence and often victims can result,” Vrajolli added.
Security expert Avni Islami also raised concerns about the possession of a large number of illegal weapons by citizens.
“The number of weapons in the hands of citizens is extremely high—both weapons that could be licensed and granted permits, as well as military weapons such as Kalashnikovs and others, weapons that kill and can kill people in large numbers. Therefore, as in previous years, it would be appropriate for state institutions to start again—and I believe this should happen every year—an amnesty. All weapons that can be identified and licensed, with appropriate training for the head of the household or whoever applies, should be stored and not misused. As for weapons that cannot be licensed and for which permits cannot be issued, a form of subsidy should be found for those who still possess weapons from the war, in order to encourage them to surrender those weapons,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, it should be recalled that during 2024, 17 murders were recorded in Kosovo.
