The Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) is seeking the confiscation of 16 real estate properties owned by Nikolin Gjolena, Klevent Gjolena and people associated with them, with a market value exceeding €2 million.
The asset investigation is linked to the seizure of 485.5 kilograms of cocaine on November 24, 2022, in the village of Frakull e Madhe, Fier. The drugs were concealed in a shipment of artificial organic fertilizer trafficked from Colombia to Albania.
Të lidhura
None found
As part of the investigation, SPAK identified 16 properties in Tirana and Durrës: three apartments and two garages in the capital, as well as three commercial units and eight apartments in the Plazh area of Durrës.
According to the Special Prosecution Office, five money transfers totaling €404,733 and $42,942 were made to finance some of these properties.
The money was transferred in the names of relatives of the individuals under investigation from various countries in Central America and the Caribbean known as tax havens.
Based on the investigation and an expert accounting report, SPAK concluded that Nikolin Gjolena, Klevent Gjolena and their associates failed to prove the lawful origin of the funds used to acquire the properties.
The properties were worth approximately €1 million when the contracts were signed, while their value at current market prices exceeds €2 million.
Nikolin Gjolena was sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison in the same case for drug trafficking and participation in a structured criminal group.
SPAK’s announcement
SPAK refers asset proceedings No. 5 of 2025 for trial, seeking confiscation of 16 properties with a market value exceeding €2 million
The Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime has completed its investigation and, on November 6, 2026, submitted a request to the Special Court of First Instance to hear asset proceedings No. 5 of 2025. The request was filed against Nikolin Gjolena and Klevent Gjolena, as well as six other people associated with them, also pursuant to Law No. 10192, dated December 3, 2009, “On preventing and combating organized crime, trafficking, corruption and other crimes through preventive measures against assets,” as amended.
The investigation established that the Special Prosecution Office initially registered criminal proceedings No. 141/2022 and No. 141/1.1 of 2026 against Nikolin Gjolena and Klevent Gjolena on suspicion of committing the criminal offenses of “Trafficking in narcotic substances,” committed through the specific form of collaboration of a structured criminal group, under Articles 283/a and 28/4 of the Criminal Code; “Structured criminal group,” under Article 333/a of the Criminal Code; and “Commission of criminal offenses by a criminal organization or structured criminal group,” under Article 334/1 of the Criminal Code.
These criminal proceedings concern the seizure on November 24, 2022, in the village of Frakull e Madhe, Fier, of 485.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a shipment of artificial organic fertilizer trafficked from Colombia to Albania.
In decision No. 39, dated June 26, 2024, the Special Court of First Instance found Nikolin Gjolena guilty of all charges against him and imposed a final sentence of 11 years and four months in prison. The Special Court of Appeal upheld this ruling in decision No. 58, dated December 30, 2024.
The investigation established that the properties subject to the confiscation request are held directly or indirectly by Nikolin Gjolena and Klevent Gjolena, as well as people associated with them, within the meaning of Article 3 of Law 10192/2009.
The investigation identified, among other assets registered in the names of Nikolin Gjolena and Klevent Gjolena, their relatives and their associates, 16 properties classified as “units,” “apartments” and “garages” in Tirana and Durrës: three apartments and two garages in Tirana, and three units and eight apartments in Durrës.
Specifically:
1. An apartment measuring 75.7 m² on Shinasi Dishnica Street, Tirana.
2. An apartment measuring 69.8 m², valued at €48,860, on Shinasi Dishnica Street, Tirana.
3. An apartment measuring 68.85 m² in cadastral zone 8130, Tirana.
4. A garage measuring 40.3 m² on Shinasi Dishnica Street, Tirana.
5. A garage measuring 40.3 m² on Shinasi Dishnica Street, Tirana.
6. A commercial unit measuring 165 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
7. A commercial unit measuring 100 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
8. A commercial unit measuring 60 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
9. An apartment measuring 91.6 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
10. An apartment measuring 88.5 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
11. An apartment measuring 76.8 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
12. An apartment measuring 76 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
13. An apartment measuring 71.2 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
14. An apartment measuring 70 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
15. An apartment measuring 62 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
16. An apartment measuring 60.5 m² in Neighborhood 13, Plazh, Durrës.
Documents obtained during the investigation established that five substantial money transfers, totaling $42,942 and €404,733, were made to finance some of the properties subject to the confiscation request. The transfers were made in the names of relatives of the individuals under investigation and originated from various countries in Central America and the Caribbean known as tax havens.
Based on the foregoing, the investigative work as a whole and the subsequent expert accounting report led to the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds for suspicion, supported by circumstantial evidence, that Nikolin Gjolena, Klevent Gjolena and their associates failed to establish the lawful origin of the income used to acquire the real estate properties.
The total value of the properties subject to the confiscation request was approximately €1,000,000 at the time the contracts were signed, while their market value exceeds €2,000,000.
Investigations are continuing to trace, identify, seize and confiscate movable and immovable assets connected to other individuals prosecuted in these criminal proceedings and their associates, with the aim of targeting benefits derived from unlawful criminal activity.
The investigation was conducted in cooperation with the Prosecution Office at the Fier Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, the National Bureau of Investigation (BKH) and the investigative units of the Criminal Police Department within the State Police.
