On 16 January 2023 the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) opened an official investigation into 15 individuals for several criminal charges based on the criminal code.

This investigation revealed deep connections between state institution representatives, private business and the organised crime was initiated by the authorities of France, while SPAK had intensive collaboration with Eurojust, Europol and the law enforcement agencies of Belgium and the Netherlands. Another key factor which helped make the case against the defendants was evidence gathered by the foreign authorities from the decryption of Sky ECC, an encrypted messaging platform that provided highly secure communication services (as outlined by SPAK, Panorama Online and Replike).

Among these individuals were Oltion Bitri, now ex-director of the special operational forces of the Albanian state police, Xhevahir Lita, former prosecutor of Kukës city, Pëllumb Gjoka, a noted businessman whose enterprise was designated as a “strategic investor” by the Albanian investment development agency, Ardrit Hasanbegaj, former deputy director of the Shkodër police and several members of an organised crime group in Albania, including Behar Brajoviq (Bajri).

Mr. Brajoviq and Mr. Gjoka are indicted for participating in a structured criminal group and murdering rivals or associates while paying bribes for information and protection from the law, the other defendants, which were at the time public servants, such as the former police chiefs Mr. Bistri or Mr. Hasabegaj and prosecutor Mr. Lika.

As a result of the investigations, several immovable assets have been seized, the total purchase value of which, as specified in notarial contracts, amounts to €3,091,519.

This case is known to the media as the Metamorphosis case, which was the code name of the police operation that resulted in the arrests of the defendants (named after the Franz Kafka novel Metamorphosis to describe the profoundly dramatic changes that resulted on those involved, their reputation and the their alleged abuses of power and public service.

The amount of social harm, disruption and damage this case has and is causing lies beyond the technical legal charges or asset seizures. The investigation opened a window into the decay of the state institutions, which are mandated to protect the public, such the police and prosecution service. These public servants abused their power and enriched themselves through participation in organised crime groups. They helped to facilitate activities that, among other significant damages, cost lives. Also, a continuous pattern has been emerging in the public eyes where the government accords “strategic status investor” to organised crime elements and enables the laundering of hundreds of millions of euros, along with profits from corruption and international drug trafficking. As a result, the normal progression of the country’s economy is being destroyed, state officials are seen as being corrupt while institutions are dismantled and blended with organised crime.