Elbasan court "armoured", 12 members of Laert Haxhiu's gang are left in prison

Under strict security measures, 12 members of the criminal group led by Laert Haxhiu have been notified of the arrest in prison at the Court of First Instance in Elbasan.

The session for those arrested in the framework of the "Never Forget" police operation, with prosecutor Kreshnik Ajazin and judge Megi Strakosha, started around 11:00 a.m. and lasted around two hours.

Numerous police forces surrounded the building since the early hours of the morning, creating a cordon but also a security perimeter, which prevented the passage of vehicles on the road in front of the entrance of the court.

The group in question was arrested after investigations into the robbery of an exchange in the Astir area, where the police pursued 39-year-old Artan Tafani.

After 3 months under surveillance, the investigators came to the conclusion that Tafani was a member of the gang led by Laert Haxhiu, as he parked in the personal garage of his girlfriend, Klea Gjata.

With the arrest of Tafan and his cooperation with the justice system, 17 serious criminal events that were committed between 2018-2021 were solved, among which 6 murders carried out by Haxhiu's group in Peq, Korça, Tepelena and Athens .

Referring to the testimony of the penitent and other evidence collected by the prosecution body, the murder of Alban Semaku, also known as Etlon Mermali, which happened on October 17, 2021, near the Shkumbin River in Peqin, was revealed.

Also, the execution of Albi Bashali on December 27, 2021 inside a bar in the village of Gjoçaj in Peqin has been disclosed. Tafani's confession also shed light on the murder of Fridmand Xhaferraj in Korçë, which happened on June 13, 2021.

The investigators also provided sufficient evidence to document the authors of the two executions of Albanian citizens in Greece, Lulzim Qorri and Dikens Halili.
Within this operation, 12 people were arrested and 4 others were declared wanted.