On the morning of September 22, the State Police conducted a search of a complex of fortified villas on the outskirts of Durrës, suspected to have served as Ergys Agasi’s hideout while he was on the run.
Të lidhura
None found
SPAK said the operation was carried out on the basis of a decision by the Special Court and was part of a broader investigation into several senior officials suspected of communicating with Agasi or helping him evade arrest.
Those included in the decision on security measures or searches are the head of the State Intelligence Service, Vlora Hyseni; former State Police Director Ilir Proda; and Fatjon Kalluçi, an official at the Institute of Forensic Police.
The complex is located near the intersection with “Durrësi në Shekuj” Street, in the Shkozet area. It consists of several buildings surrounded by high concrete walls, sealed windows and climbing vegetation extending up to the upper floors.
Two people familiar with the investigation told BIRN, on condition of anonymity, that the villas where Agasi is suspected of having stayed, equipped with extensive security measures, are controlled by the “Troplini” clan, regardless of the names under which the properties are registered.
The Special Prosecution Office describes the “Troplini” group as one of the most dangerous organized crime organizations in Albania. According to this assessment, its activities also extend to Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and countries in Latin America.
On May 21, 2025, SPAK announced that it had dismantled an international drug-trafficking organization based in Durrës. One of its leaders was Elvis Doçi, who evaded arrest and was declared wanted.
Doçi, known as “Visi i Pojës,” has family ties to Xhevdet Troplini. The latter was investigated by Italian justice authorities in the mid-2000s for suspected involvement in drug trafficking, while no charges have been brought against him in Albania.
Ergys Agasi, 39, was declared wanted in December last year on suspicion of involvement in organized crime in the scandal surrounding the National Agency of Information Society, AKSHI. He was arrested eight months later, on August 26, in the Plepat area of Durrës, while returning from Elbasan, where he had stayed for several hours.
Evidence gathered during the investigation shows that, during the months he was on the run, Agasi moved freely from his hiding place and continued contacts with people from the world of organized crime and state officials, mainly in Durrës, Tirana and Elbasan.
Sources familiar with the case told BIRN that although the authorities frequently received information about Agasi’s whereabouts, the operation to arrest him began only after a series of changes in the police leadership, which followed Ilir Proda’s removal as State Police director.
Suspicions regarding secret service chief Vlora Hyseni’s involvement in protecting Agasi during his stay at the Troplini group’s complex have expanded the scale of the scandal.
The case has raised serious questions about the functioning of one of the country’s main security institutions and the relationships between senior officials and people linked to organized crime.
Information from the investigative file published in the media shows that, from June to August of this year, more than 500 phone calls, audio and video recordings, and messages were recorded between Hyseni and Agasi.
In these communications, she is suspected of being directly involved in supporting Agasi’s interests before the justice institutions investigating him.
Hyseni is suspected not only of being willing to help Agasi, but also of placing her official status and the capacities of the institution she headed at his disposal.
Messages published in the media suggest that Hyseni, in a serious breach of duty, informed Agasi about her meetings with Prime Minister Rama, senior state officials and foreign counterparts.
Meanwhile, nine large printouts containing diagrams and data similar to materials produced by the State Intelligence Service were found in a vehicle belonging to Agasi that was seized in July. These documents are still being verified.
During her testimony before the Prosecutor’s Office, Hyseni stated that she had communicated with Agasi after he presented himself as a “collaborator.” SPAK has disputed this version.
SPAK’s investigation into Ergys Agasi suggests that he exerted influence over several senior officials in key institutions. Former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, who is on the run, has publicly accused Agasi of acting as “a coordinator” between the world of organized crime and the government led by Prime Minister Edi Rama.
