The “Black Eagle” dossier in Brussels exposes money laundering in Albania

At the Brussels Court of Appeal, lawyers for a money laundering suspect in the case known as "Black Eagle" objected to the progress of the criminal prosecution, stating that the case against their client is inadmissible and based on incomplete evidence.

In this international case, involving 34 people accused of trafficking cocaine from Latin America to Europe between 2018 and 2020, the defense has cast strong doubts on the validity of the documentation. According to two Belgian lawyers, the documents that incriminate their client were taken from investigative files in Italy and Spain, but only “rough” translations have arrived in Belgium, which they say are insufficient to support a criminal charge.

The person protected by these lawyers is around 60 years old and active in the real estate sector in Albania and Italy. He is suspected of having mediated between one of the suspected ringleaders and Albanian investors to launder drug money through construction projects in Tirana and other areas.

The case of Gazmir V.

Lawyer Lucrezia Notarrigo requested that the proceedings against her client, Gazmir V., be considered inadmissible, citing the legal principle “non bis in idem,” which prohibits being tried twice for the same facts. She noted that Gazmir V. had previously been convicted in Antwerp for drug trafficking, following an operation in which he was identified by extracting cocaine from a container hidden on a ship.

According to the defense, these facts are the same as those for which he is being charged again in Brussels in the “Black Eagle” case. Moreover, the lawyer insisted that after the first arrest, her client did not continue criminal activity. She cited telephone records that, according to her, accurately document every movement of Gazmir V. in the period in question, without any connection to the criminal group.

The organization's garages and drug containers

Meanwhile, Ilir L., another defendant, stated before the court that he was unaware of the criminal activity taking place in the premises he managed. He is accused of managing garages where vehicles and chemicals used for drug transportation and processing were stored.

“The first judge said I should have understood, but that’s not true,” said Ilir L., noting that as soon as the garages were searched, he notified his employer, Indrit Kulaj – one of the two suspected leaders of the organization, along with Alfredo Hamzai. “He told me: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything, I’ll fix the containers.’ But I decided to withdraw from his company,” Ilir added.

The federal prosecutor described the company "Mondovi", registered in Belgium, as an "empty shell", which on paper operated in the field of vehicle import-export, but in reality was a mask for laundering cocaine proceeds.

Albanian names and activity in Tirana

The "Black Eagle" dossier mentions some of the Albanian drug traffickers such as Artur S., Indrit Kulaj, Arben I., Alfredo and Arten Hamzai, Fjodor B., Aldo T., Llazar S., Marsel A., Erik I., Geron Z., Klodjan B., Gazmir V., Ilir L. as well as the Kosovar Bashkim O.

The investigations have also revealed direct links to Albanian officials, including cases of corruption involving a watch worth 400 thousand euros, as well as meetings held in the Netherlands to influence the obtaining of construction permits for a tower in Tirana, facts that have not been fully disclosed in the media there./ Lapsi.al