Court remands Ylli Zalla in custody; lawyer: He does not pose a high risk, weapons were old

Ylli Zalla will remain in pretrial detention after the Tirana Court accepted the prosecution’s request and imposed the security measure of “arrest in prison” against him.

The defense disputed the assessment that he poses a high social risk and requested a more lenient measure.

Lawyer Dritan Gila said that neither Zalla as a person nor the criminal offenses of which he is accused pose any particular risk.

According to him, there is no indication that the arrested man was involved in any other criminal incident.

The defense also argued that there was no evidence that the seized materials had been used in other incidents. The lawyer also said there was no evidence that Zalla had engaged in actions to sell narcotics.

As Gila explained, the weapons and ammunition were discovered among bushes behind the residence and beyond the courtyard. They had been left without any specific security arrangements or measures and had not been kept intact or packaged.

Regarding the explosive materials, the lawyer said that some detonator caps were not functional and could not cause an explosion. He added that some bombs and other explosive devices did not have the necessary connections to detonate.

According to the defense, the seized weapons were old Chinese-made products dating back to the 1980s. The lawyer described them as approximately 50 years old and manufactured in 1982.

The cannabis that was found had also been exposed to the elements and atmospheric factors, according to Gila. In his assessment, this circumstance shows that Zalla had not taken any particular care in preserving the seized quantity.

An important part of the defense’s arguments concerned how the police operation ended. Gila stressed that, although numerous officers were involved in the search for Zalla and drones were used, the police failed to capture him.

According to the lawyer, the operation ended successfully only because Ylli Zalla decided to surrender voluntarily and clarify his position. He said that publicly recorded videos filmed in front of the house prove this moment.

The defense explained that Zalla called out to a person near the residence, whom he believed to be a member of the RENEA forces. He then identified himself to the officer and surrendered.

Relying on the condition of the weapons, the partial functionality of the ammunition and explosive devices, the way the cannabis was stored, the lack of involvement in other incidents and the voluntary surrender, the lawyer requested a more lenient security measure. The Tirana Court rejected the request and imposed the “arrest in prison” measure sought by the prosecution.