Albania Arrests Suspected Gang of Assassins

Police inspect the car of the prefect of Vlora, after explosive device was discoverd at the entrance of the government office on Dec.13 | Photo by : Hektor Pustina/AP

Albanian police said they had rounded up “a structured criminal organization, which… is suspected of being involved in a numbers of grave crimes… over the last two years.

“This is the first time an investigation has discovered a group of suspects who carried out assassinations-for-hire, shedding light on the crime chain, from the executioner to the middle man and those who ordered them,” police added.

The suspects include 31-year-old Julian Sinanaj, who is seen as the main force in the gang.

After Sinanaj’s arrest on Tuesday in Tirana, police discovered an aresenal of weapons in his apartment in Tirana, including 15 remote-control explosive devices.

Sinanaj is suspected of having carried out four bomb atttacks and two murders.

According to police, he was behind an explosion in the home of Democratic Party MP Ardian Kollozi in the city of Vlora on June 1.

Police also believe Sinanaj planted an explosive device found on the car of the prefect of Vlora, Besnik Dervishaj, on December 13, while he was entering the government office in Tirana.  

Marjan Mitro, a former inspector on the municipality of Vlora, was arrested on Wednsday at Tirana Airport, accused of ordering the bomb attack against Dervishaj.

Two brothers from the city of Vlora, Genis and Andon Mehillaj, are suspected of ordering another bomb attack carried out by Sinanaj in October and are currently wanted by the police.

“Apart from his criminal activity in Albania, Sinanaj is suspected of 20 cases of murder-for-hire in Greece,” police said.

At the time of his arrest, police said that Sinanaj was planning the murder of an oil businessman from the city of Durres.