Enmity with the Duka clan/ How all Ervis Martinaj's men were eliminated (Stories and names)

The extradition of Leonard Duka, one of the most wanted crime figures, from Belgium to our country also brings to attention the saga of clashes between him and the 'boss' of gambling, Ervis Martinaj.

Martinaj has been missing since August 2022.

Many of his supporters were executed in mob assassinations before he disappeared.

On the evening of August 27, 2019, ex-policeman Santiago Malko was executed inside his car in Tirana . At the end of the investigations, after taking the case to trial, the Prosecutor's Office said that his murder had occurred because of the rivalry in gambling between two criminal groups. But between the lines in the file and many testimonies of a parallel investigation carried out by the Prosecutor's Office of Vlora, it actually turned out that Malko was killed in the impossibility of eliminating Ervis Martinaj. This, after several plans to kill him had failed.

The assassination of Santiago Malko was planned by a group consisting of 7 members, who were active in the field, while two other people are the ones who ordered and paid Fatmir Hysenin to carry out the execution. In the investigation file, it is noted that the order of the murder are the brothers Leonard and Erlis Duka. While the group that worked for them and participated with different roles in the murder of Santiago Malko, are: Ilir Selmani, Oltian Loga, Dritan Agaj, Aleksandër Maxhak, Xhoni Nica, Fatmir Hyseni and Blendi Teta.

After Malko's murder, the attack on Ervis Martinaj's people continued until 2022. On November 13, 2021, his friend Erigers Mihasi was executed. He was driving in the "Astiri" area, together with Armando Duman, when he was shot with Kalashnikovs from another car. Armando Dumani also lost his life from the shooting. Mihasi was also close friends with ex-policeman Santiago Malko. The double murder still remains unsolved.

Almost a month later, on December 23, 2021, Can Kariçi , another Martinaj man, was shot with a silenced firearm inside a car with foreign license plates. The incident took place in Kodër-Kamëz, while the perpetrators have not yet been found. Kariçi had previous criminal records and had been convicted for an injury that occurred in Tirana in 2018.

On May 17, 2022, 29-year-old Ulvi Skana disappeared without a trace. The family members filed a complaint and the Police launched an investigation into his abduction. It has been hinted in the media that he was a close friend of Can Kariç and an acquaintance of Martinaj, but his mother, Thëlleza Skana, has denied in media appearances that her son is part of the people of the gambling boss.

In the end, the hardest blow for Ervis Martinaj happens. On July 17, 2022, his cousin, at the same time his closest person, Brilant Martinaj, was killed . He was executed in an assassination attempt at the Fushë-Kruja overpass. The perpetrators fired volleys at Kalashnvikov towards the car in which Brilant Martinaj, Dikler Vata and Besmir Hoxha were traveling. Vata got out of the vehicle, but was executed by bullets, while the other two were burned inside the car.

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In the end, another file was opened for him. The Special Court, with decision no. 42, dated May 17, 2022, imposed on Ervis Martinaj the measure of personal security "arrest in prison" for 4 criminal offenses, one of which, a structured criminal group.

The repentant justice, Nuredin Dumani, also mentioned him as the person who ordered the murder. Duman testified that Ervis Martinaj had offered up to 500,000 euros for the murder of Endri Dokles.

Although he was declared wanted by SPAK, Martinaj was never found. Police officer Jeton Lami, who was suspected of helping him to escape, was arrested instead. Lam was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison, but he has already completed his sentence and is free.

Disappearances

At the time when the Police were looking for him to arrest him, on August 10, 2022, his uncle, Faik Martinaj, filed a criminal report at the Kurbin Police Station. He said they had lost contact with his nephew. Faik Martinaj explained that since his nephew Ervisi was declared wanted by the judicial authorities, he and his family had no contact with him and were unaware of his whereabouts.

Asked about the motives and persons who may have been involved in the disappearance of his nephew, Faik Martinaj explained that since the testimony of the citizen Nuredin Dumani, who accused his nephew Ervis of several serious crimes, had also begun problems for him.

He has cast doubts on criminal groups and especially on the citizen Endrit Dokle. After this report, the Prosecutor's Office registered criminal proceedings for kidnapping, but nothing has been revealed about Ervis Martinaj's location.

It has been investigated in several directions by the prosecution body, many people have been intercepted, but nothing has been concluded so far.

For the State Police, the fact that since his disappearance, there had been no criminal events, at least armed clashes between groups as had happened before, explained the weakening of his group. This data was also a type of indication that led the Police to think that Ervis Martinaj could have been killed.