An amount of 1 million euros hidden in an improvised space inside a van was found by Customs officials and border police in Merdare on 24.02.2026.
The suspects in this case are Aurel Kaziu , a police officer in the ranks of the State Police, specifically at Police Station number 5 in Tirana, Ardit Laska and Etnik Ahmaxhokaj , who were arrested and are in detention.
KALLXO.com has secured the request for the imposition of a security measure, through which the Special Prosecutor has requested a one-month detention of the three defendants, based on the risk of their flight, destruction, concealment, alteration and falsification of evidence .
The same people are suspected of "money laundering".
"There is a well-founded suspicion that the defendants intentionally and knowing that the certain property was acquired through criminal activity, entered the territory of the Republic of Kosovo," states the request for the imposition of a security measure against the Albanian policeman and two other persons who were caught in Merdare transporting 1 million undeclared euros.
According to the file, the "Sprinter" van, with Albanian license plates, had entered Kosovo through Merdara driven by the defendant Edmir Ahmagjokaj , who was accompanied by the other two defendants; Aurel Kaziu and Ardit Laska .
The file states that 18 packages of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 euro banknotes were found in the improvised "bunker" in the van .
When questioned, all three stated that they were drivers by profession.
Defendant Edmir Ahmagjokaj, in the statement given to customs investigators on 24.02.2026, stated that he had no knowledge of the money found in the van.
He explained that he had traveled to Germany on 22.02.2026 to work in mail delivery for various clients.
He stayed at the hotel around 10:00 PM and planned to leave for Albania on 25.02.2026.
The defendant Aurel Kaziu , who is a police officer in Albania, in the statement given to customs investigators on 24.02.2026, the defendant stated that on 21.02.2026 he had left Tirana for Germany in a blue van, which he had exchanged in Kosovo for the van that was stopped by Customs.
"The company had taken the van from Kosovo to Tirana. He said he had stayed one night in Dortmund and then met with Edmir Ahmagjokaj in Cologne, where they had eaten together and then continued their journey to Albania. He stated that he had no knowledge of the confiscated money," the file states.
Meanwhile, the third defendant, Ardit Laska, according to the file, stated that he had been to Germany for the first time in three months. He denied any connection to the money. He said that he had contacted a company via Instagram for transportation from Germany to Albania.
"The company had given him Aurel Kaziu's contact information and the location of the departure point. On 23.02.2026, he, together with Aurel Kaziu and Edmir Ahmagjokaj, had left Dortmund for Albania," the file continues.
The value of 1 million euros found in a hidden space in a van, according to the Prosecution, is suspected of having been obtained through criminal activity.
The file states that when the suspects were detained and questioned by customs investigators, they denied having anything to declare.
Ahmagjokaj, Kaziu and Laska were stopped at the border crossing on 24.02.2026 at around 13:00. The three were initially stopped for a check by Kosovo Customs, while digital X-ray equipment found some suspicions of monetary assets hidden inside a van.