
The Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has completed its investigations and sent for trial three Ukrainian citizens accused of trafficking and exploitation of persons within a structured criminal group operating in Vlora.
The defendants are:
Nazar Khamuilo, currently in custody in prison;
Mark Petrenko, also in custody in prison;
Karol Oskiera, for whom the measure of "prison arrest" has been imposed, but has not yet been executed.
The three are accused of “trafficking in adult persons”, participation in a “structured criminal group” and “committing criminal offenses by a criminal organization”. Meanwhile, SPAK has requested the dismissal of the charges against three other citizens involved in the proceedings: Oleh Kulsha, Marianna Syzareva and Oleksander Tavorskyi.
The investigation began in November 2024, following a complaint from the Embassy of Ukraine in Albania, according to which a Ukrainian citizen was being held and forced to work against his will in Vlora. After verifications, the police discovered three residential and work premises in the “Demokracia” neighborhood, where several Ukrainian citizens were working on laptops and other people were being recruited for drug trafficking in Eastern Europe.
According to the investigation, the victims were recruited through the Telegram app with the promise of a job in Warsaw. After interviews and a polygraph test in Poland, they were sent to Albania, where they were given pseudonyms and were forbidden to use their real names. Specifically, Nazar Khamuilo went by the pseudonym “Kika”, Mark Petrenko was known as “Friday”, and Karol Oskiera used the pseudonym “Veterineri”.
The investigations also revealed pressure, threats and psychological violence against recruits, including the showing of videos of violence against those who did not fulfill their duties. During the checks, electronic devices and 24 passports of foreign citizens working in these facilities were seized.