TIRANA, Jan. 31 – The police have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of Defrim Kasmi, who was gunned down in the capital earlier this week over a suspected drug trafficking and gang affiliation rivalry.
The 42-year-old is thought to have been followed for about a week before being shot by two armed men on a motorbike.
In addition, the police believes Kasmi knew he was being followed, which is why he was limiting his public appearances and walking around armed. Police also said they had a file on Kasmi, indicating he was involved in criminal activities. The suspect for the crime is 25-year-old Mario Meshini, who was detained and accused for premeditated murder and illegal gun possession.
His lawyer, however, denied the accusation, saying Meshini and Kasmi were friends for a long time and that Meshini was present at the murder scene.
Kasmi was shot outside his apartment, which is in close proximity to a gym he owned — the cameras of which filmed the perpetrators fleeing the scene.
Local media reported that different drugs and an automatic weapon was found in Kasmi’s property after a police search.
Another lead is that a hitman was hired to commit the murder by Domart Konjari, who has been hiding from the police for over a year now over alleged drug trafficking activities.
Public order is often shaken by such incidents in Albania. Recently, eight people were harmed in Shkodra from an amount of TNT which was placed under the car of the actual target.
These incidents are usually related to deeper issues and most targets have had criminal pasts either related to drugs or other illegal activities.
The frequency with which such incidents happen, however, also points to the country’s failed judicial and criminal system, as cases that should be solved by the courts end up being solved in the streets, experts note.
Typically safer than most countries in terms of petty crime and general safety, Albania has a long history of targeted gang violence, starting from the chaotic 1990s. The shooting this week could have had its roots as far back as a gang war between rival neighborhoods in Tirana in the 1990s, local media reported.
