An investigative file has revealed new details about the arrest of 31-year-old Kejdi Banaj in the Skërfica tunnel, on the Kardhiq-Delvinë road, where police say they seized four “Glock” pistols. The young man gave two partially different versions, first to police and later in court, claiming the weapon was not his and that the black bag had been placed in the car by an acquaintance.
What investigators claim about the stop in the Skërfica tunnel
According to the investigative materials, police had obtained information that Banaj was traveling in a rental vehicle and was transporting firearms destined for Saranda.
The official version also mentions another, more serious suspicion: that along the way he was to pick up around 500 grams of cocaine in Lushnjë and later distribute it in doses in Saranda. Up to this point, these are investigative suspicions, not facts proven in court.
After stopping the vehicle in the Skërfica tunnel, police say they found the four pistols hidden under the upholstery of the front passenger seat, inside a black bag.
Statement to police: “I was going on vacation”
In his initial statements, the 31-year-old was described as cooperative with investigators, handing over his phone code and identifying the person who, according to him, had left the weapons in the car.
He claimed that an acquaintance with the initials E. S., whom he had met again after several years, had asked him to accompany him to Saranda to find a rental apartment.
According to this version, in Tirana, near the Kashar highway, E. S. and his brother-in-law took a black bag and placed it in the vehicle Banaj was driving, before later leaving in another car.
Change of position before the court
At the hearing on the security measure, Banaj partially changed his position. He stated that he has been a user of narcotic substances for years and insisted that he had no knowledge of the contents of the bag.
His claim before the court was that he had agreed to go to Saranda to help an acquaintance find a holiday home and that only after being stopped by police did he understand what was in the black bag.
This partial change in his statements is expected to weigh on the assessment of the credibility of his defense, while the prosecution relies on the circumstances of the stop and the materials collected so far.
The person mentioned and the security measure
From the investigation, according to the file, it appears that E. S., 26, from Tirana, is the person mentioned by Banaj as the organizer of the transport of the weapons.
Also according to the investigation, he is listed as wanted in connection with a similar incident from March of this year, which further strengthens the lead authorities are pursuing.
The court imposed the security measure of “prison arrest” on Kejdi Banaj, while the investigation remains open to identify and capture other people who may have had a role in this case.
The case once again raises questions about the movement of weapons toward tourist areas at the peak of the summer season and about the effectiveness of efforts to strike the networks suspected of supplying them.
For now, the prosecution’s version and that of the arrested man remain in conflict, while the decisive evidence will be the elements the investigation manages to verify beyond the statements.