Three people declared internationally wanted have ended up in handcuffs or in extradition proceedings, according to the official version of the State Police. The announcement refers to three phases of operation “The Wanted,” carried out with the involvement of Interpol Tirana and partner authorities in Spain, Romania and the United Kingdom.
Arrest at Rinas on behalf of the Spanish authorities
At Rinas airport, Bujar Buja, 43, born in Gjakova and residing in Amsterdam, was provisionally arrested for the purpose of extradition to Spain.
According to police, he is wanted by Central Investigating Court No. 1 at Madrid’s National Court, which in July 2026 ordered the measure of “arrest in prison” against him for drug trafficking and participation in a criminal organization.
Spanish authorities claim it concerns a criminal structure involved in cocaine trafficking, with its main base on the Costa del Sol. According to the investigation information relayed by the Spanish side, Buja is suspected of having been involved in the transport of drugs.
Aurel Hoxhallari, wanted by SPAK and the GJKKO, arrested in Romania
In another development, Romanian authorities arrested Aurel Hoxhallari, 49, born in Tirana, for the purpose of extradition to Albania.
According to the case file referred to by police, he had been declared internationally wanted after the GJKKO had imposed the measure of “arrest in prison” on him in April 2018 for a series of criminal offenses, including premeditated murder, illegal possession of weapons, drug trafficking and participation in a structured criminal group.
The official version links his name to the January 29, 2018 incident on “Kongresi i Manastirit” street in Tirana, where citizen D. K. is suspected of having been shot dead in cooperation with other persons. Police also say that during earlier operations, 9 firearms, 130 kilograms of cannabis and a large number of cannabis plants were seized.
Extradition from London to Albania
Xhuljano Hoxha, 31, born in Berat, has also been extradited from London to Albania.
According to the police statement, he had been declared internationally wanted after the GJKKO had imposed the measure of “arrest in prison” on him in April 2024 for production and sale of narcotic substances, structured criminal group, and commission of criminal offenses within the framework of a criminal organization or structured criminal group.
Albanian authorities link these proceedings to a case struck on November 10, 2022 in the village of Drenovicë, in Berat county. According to the SPAK investigation, he is suspected of having been involved, in cooperation with other persons, in the cultivation of narcotic plants.
What police say about the next procedures
The State Police presents the operation as part of cooperation with international partners for the location, capture and extradition of wanted persons.
According to the announcement, Interpol Tirana is continuing procedures with its Spanish and Romanian counterparts for the extradition of the two people arrested outside or at the entry to Albanian territory, while the extradition from the United Kingdom has already been carried out.
The case brings together three different procedures in a single police communication package, but for each of the names the charges and suspicions remain at the stages determined by court decisions and extradition processes.
The weight of the announcement lies in the international coordination, while judicial verification of responsibility in each case belongs to the relevant institutions in Albania and abroad.