Oltion Bistri, the former head of the Special Operational Force, was not found at his home in Tirana when officers went there to enforce a ruling by the Special Court of Appeal ordering his return to prison.
This came a day after the GJKKO appeals court overturned the first-instance ruling, sentencing Bistri to 7 years and 4 months in prison, up from the 2-year sentence he had previously received.
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The court also found him guilty of passive corruption and laundering the proceeds of crime, while upholding his conviction for disclosing secret documents or information.
According to sources, Bistri appears to have left for Greece about a month ago through the Kakavija border crossing. It is not known, however, whether Greece was his final destination or whether he used it as a transit point to travel to another country.
In its November 11 ruling, the appeals panel, comprising reporting judge Dhimitër Lara and judges Daniela Shirka and Engert Pëllumbi, also ordered the confiscation of Bistri’s assets, including three apartments, two shops and about 1.3 million euros.
Bistri was arrested in July 2023 as part of the “Metamorfoza” case. He was released in November 2025 after the Special Court of First Instance convicted him only of disclosing secret information and acquitted him of the corruption and money-laundering charges.
In the “Metamorfoza” case, the former police official is suspected of informing businessman Pëllumb Gjoka about police inspections of his gambling business, compromising police operations.
The appeals ruling now requires Bistri to return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. So far, however, he has not been found at his home.
