Durrës Municipality of Gjakova employee arrested after being caught with around 80 kilograms of cannabis

Besfort Jaka, 40, an employee of the Municipality of Gjakova, has been arrested by Albanian police on suspicion of involvement in the trafficking of nearly 80 kilograms of narcotics.

He is one of three Kosovo citizens arrested during “Anchor,” an operation carried out in the city of Durrës.

According to a statement from the Albanian authorities, 127 packages of “Gelato” cannabis were seized at the Port of Durrës. The variety is characterized by a high percentage of THC. The total weight of the drugs seized reached nearly 80 kilograms.

Police estimate that the value of this quantity on the illegal market is around 1 million euros.

Jaka holds a position as an official in the budget sector at the Municipality of Gjakova, which is headed by Ardian Gjini.

A review of his Facebook profile reveals that he is a staunch supporter of Mayor Gjini.

Besfort Jaka’s name is not unknown on Gjakova’s local political scene.

Data from the Central Election Commission show that he was previously a candidate of the Democratic Party of Kosovo for the Municipal Assembly in Gjakova, first in the 2009 local elections, when he received 60 votes, and later in the 2013 elections, when he secured 220 votes.

Also, in 2013, he was presented to the public as a representative of the PDK Youth Forum in Gjakova.

Later, in 2019, his name also appeared on the list of candidates for the PDK Steering Council in that city, where he received 69 votes.

Insajderi newspaper tried to contact Mayor Ardian Gjini by email and telephone, but by the time this article was published, he had not issued a response.

The newspaper also communicated with the office of Deputy Mayor Flamur Fetahaj.

That office said it was not responsible for commenting on the case. “It is not my duty to speak about this issue; however, now that you have sent the questions, you will receive a response at the earliest opportunity,” the deputy mayor’s office said.

Nevertheless, by the time this material was published, Insajderi had received no statement from the Municipality of Gjakova.

In addition to Jaka, police also arrested Taulant Duraku, 32, and Luan Gashi, 26; all three are citizens of Kosovo.

Two other citizens have been identified as suspects and declared wanted.

As part of the operation, in addition to the narcotics, three vehicles, five mobile phones and nearly 11,000 euros in cash were seized.

The three arrested individuals face criminal charges of “Drug Trafficking.”