Lulzim Berisha transferred to Durres detention center

The former leader of the Durrës Gang, Lulzim Berisha, has been transferred to the coastal city's detention center.

A2 CNN sources inform us that his transfer from Prison "313" in Durrës took place on Saturday.

Former minister Ilir Beqja and former socialist MPs Jurgis Çyrbja and Alqi Bllako are currently in the same detention center.

Berisha arrived on Albanian soil from Spain, where he was arrested in December 2023, pursuant to an international warrant from SPAK and a court decision that he did not enforce.

After a 1 year and 3 month stay in the Spanish state, where he was found with a transformed appearance and a fake Bulgarian identity card, the former leader of the Durrës gang waged a legal battle to avoid extradition to Albania.

He lost this battle in the first instance and in the Appeal. Berisha was extradited a few days ago from Spain. After landing at Rinas airport, he was escorted under extreme security measures to the "313" detention center in the capital.

Currently, Lulëzim Berisha has two criminal cases on his shoulders. In a trial, where he is a co-defendant with six others, including Plaurent Derivshaj and Emiliano Shullazi, Berisha is being tried for involvement in the execution of Klodian Saliu, on February 26, 2005 on the Durrës-Tirana highway. In the same investigation, Berisha was also suspected of the murder of businessman Vajdin Lamaj, a case that was later dismissed at the request of SPAK.

Berisha's other score with the justice system is almost 6 years of unserved prison time from the sentence he received as the leader of the Durrës gang, responsible for several serious criminal events. As the leader of the gang, Lulzim Berisha was sentenced to life in prison in the First Instance and the Appeal of Serious Crimes, but the Supreme Court in July 2014 reduced the sentence to 25 years.

Two years later, after serving almost 19 years of his sentence, the Durrës Court of Appeal accepted his request for early release and placement on probation.

One of the documents on which he based his claim for release was a letter signed by the former mayor of Durrës at the time, Vangjush Dako, who said that he would employ Berisha in one of the Municipality's directorates.

In December 2021, while Berisha was wanted by the judiciary, the Supreme Court overturned the Appeals Court's decision, thus forcing Berisha's return to prison to serve the remaining years of his prison sentence.  (A2 Televizion)