$10 million in crypto seized from Albanian crime gang

22 Janar 2025, 17:07Society TEMA

$10 million in crypto seized from Albanian crime gang

TIRANA, January 22, 2025 - Albanian authorities have seized $10 million in cryptocurrency linked to two brothers, Franc and Hajdar Çopja, suspected of running one of the most dangerous crime gangs in the country.


The Special Prosecutor’s Office said the operation was successful thanks to cooperation with a major cryptocurrency company, a global crypto exchange, and Europol. Police in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain also supported the effort, which lasted from November 2024 to January 2025.


The Çopja gang was first targeted in July 2024, when 33 arrest warrants were issued. Fifteen suspects were arrested, while others had already left Albania. Franc is now in Belgium after being extradited, and Hajdar is thought to be hiding in Dubai. Both are accused of murders, money laundering, and involvement in the €10 million airport heist in Tirana in 2019.


Authorities have also seized luxury homes, apartments, businesses, and large plots of land, most registered under the names of the gang’s associates. Two currency exchange owners in Tirana were arrested for allegedly providing financial services to the group.


Europol has described the gang  as key players in laundering money from drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Investigations uncovered a hidden “banking system” used to move and clean criminal profits globally.

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