New details have emerged from the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution (SPAK) investigative file on the “Metamorphosis” operation, where a criminal group was dismantled, and 15 arrest warrants were issued.
Wiretaps obtained by French authorities from the SKY application not only expose how the contract killings were ordered but also reveal that many police officials in Shkodra were regularly serving criminal gangs.
In conversations between Behar Bajri and businessman Pëllumb Gjoka, who ordered several murders to be carried out on Ibrahim Licaj, Genc Tafili, Dorian Duli, and Kleant Musabelli, it becomes evident that police chiefs were also involved, using state resources to wiretap the targeted individuals.
Behar Bajri is considered as the “number two” of the Bajri criminal gang, who was arrested in The Netherlands in September 22, 2018. Considered as one of the most dangerous names in the world of organized crime in Albania, Bajri was accused of killing his 15-year-old wife, Fabiola Bajri and citizen Arben Tuzi in 2002, while other crimes are also attributed to his name.
In a transcribed conversation between Behar Bajrovic (Bajri) and Pëllumb Gjoka, found in the SPAK file, they discuss the division of police officers, some working for them and some working for the other side.
Such division of police officers between criminal groups had been rumored before, but these wiretaps are the first evidence showing the level of criminal infiltration within the ranks of the Albanian police.
SPAK conducted a major operation on July 27, resulting in the arrest of the head of Kukës Prosecution Office, a former chief of the Operational Force in the State Police, a well-known businessman, and several members of criminal groups.
Among those apprehended were Xhevahir Lita, a prosecutor in Kukës district, Oltion Bistri, a former chief of the Operational Force in the State Police, and Ardit Hasanbega, a former chief of the Office against Organized Crime in Shkodra Police, who was dismissed from the police force while serving in Berat a year ago.
Prominent businessman Pëllumb Gjoka was also taken into custody. The opposition had accused him of having connections with the government and benefiting from public assets.
SPAK highlighted that “criminal acts committed by public officials, high-ranking state police officers, high-ranking police officers, and the arrested prosecutor were documented, undermining the proper functioning of the rule of law and law enforcement”.
The State Police’s statement on this operation, codenamed “Metamorphosis”, shed light on the roles of the officials and individuals involved in SPAK’s investigation.
Businessman Pëllumb Gjoka is suspected of involvement in premeditated murder through collaboration within an organized criminal group, including a murder in Shkodra in July 2020. Moreover, in three other incidents in Tirana and Shkodra, the police allege that Gjoka “provided the conditions and means for carrying out the murders”.
Former chief of the Operational Force in the State Police, Oltion Bistri, is suspected of “abuse of office” for “disclosing secret acts and data”.
Ardit Hasanbega, the former chief of the Office against Organized Crime in Shkodra Police, is suspected of “providing the conditions and material means for committing murders” and participating in an “organized criminal group” against two citizens in Shkodra in 2020.
Prosecutor Xhevahir Lita from Kukës is suspected of corruption in two cases and involvement in an “organized criminal group”.
During the operation, 26 residences and premises were inspected, leading to the seizure of eight firearms, including six pistols, one automatic rifle, and one rifle, along with military ammunition, 19 ammunition magazines, two sniper rifle mounts, three hunting rifles, two police radio chargers, two other weapons, three masks, one wig, eight vehicles (including four armored ones), one hidden camera, two vehicle plates, three luxury watches, 3,409,000 Albanian lek (approximately 34,000 euros), 31,205 euros, 4,400 US dollars, three USB devices, seven DVRs, 28 cell phones, and one laptop.
Among the individuals still wanted is Ervis Martinaj, a well-known figure in the Albanian criminal world, who has been missing. Prime Minister Edi Rama had given the police a 100-day deadline to clarify his fate, but almost a year has passed without any revelations.
Prek Kodra is also on the wanted list. His name appeared in an email from the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Kosovo Police, addressed to the General Director of the State Police in Albania, Gledis Nano, in 2021, claiming that he “would assassinate Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti”. This document was published by hackers along with thousands of communications from the Albanian State Police.
The Special Prosecution Against Organized Crime carried out this operation in cooperation with Eurojust, Europol, and law enforcement agencies from Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. The arrested and wanted individuals are suspected of criminal activities in Albania and several European countries.
SPAK’s investigations have also revealed that individuals with criminal records may have been involved in other incidents, which are still under scrutiny.
