Belgian media reports that Albanian drug lord Denis Matoshi has been extradited to the country from Dubai. This was confirmed by Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden. Matoshi, also known as Eldi Dizdari or the "Tall Albanian", is accused of being one of the leaders of the criminal organization "Bello Company" and has already received a 10-year prison sentence in Antwerp.
“The extradition of Denis Matoshi is imminent,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office declared last Thursday during a court hearing in Antwerp. A money laundering case in which Matoshi was one of the defendants was being heard on Thursday at the Vlinderpaleis. Denis Matoshi himself did not appear for the case.
“He swapped Antwerp for Dubai years ago. However, the former leader of the Albanian criminal organization “Kompania Bello” has already been in prison there for 2 years; he was arrested at the request of Belgium.
Matoshi was sentenced this year in Antwerp to 10 years in prison and a fine of 80,000 euros as the mastermind behind the drug trafficking in the major Yaramis case. Criminal proceeds of 7.5 million euros attributed to him were also confiscated.
When the Yaramis clan lost its position in the port of Antwerp due to internal disputes and a judicial investigation, Matoshi joined forces with his new business partners, Omar Govers and Najim EM. He is said to have worked with them for a long time to pull cocaine shipments from piers 1700 and 1742.
In a file involving Omar Govers, the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office had requested his extradition. Sky ECC reports reportedly revealed that Govers' associates also carried out two money transfers for Matoshi in 2020 and 2021, totaling 1.75 million euros. The Matoshi part of the file was separated and will be dealt with later.
At the request of the Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office, so that he can personally attend his trial after extradition. Denis Matoshi boarded a plane in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday and landed a few hours later at the military airport of Melsbroek. From there, he was immediately transferred to a Belgian prison.
Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden announced the news via social media. “Together with the United Arab Emirates, we are showing that there are no safe havens for drug criminals,” Verlinden said. Her cabinet did not want to provide further information about Matoshi’s individual case.
The group that included Dizdari and Dritan Gjika was hit by SPAK after it is suspected of transporting at least 50 tons of cocaine from Latin America to European Union countries.
In 2020, when the Special Prosecution Office launched a property investigation against him, it learned that Dizdar had received a 500 square meter plot of land as a gift from Qefsere and Eqerem Grori and Osman Dervishi in one of the super expensive areas of Tirana, on Dervish Hima Street near the "Air Albania" stadium. ©LAPSI.al
