New details have been revealed from the arrest of the much-wanted Ilir Paja, who is otherwise known by the nickname "UFO" due to his sensational escapes from high-security prisons in Italy.
He was handcuffed yesterday evening in a bar in the Laprak area, as it is learned that he was kept under strict surveillance for almost 3 months. The police had provided information that he was staying in that area in the apartment of a friend of his.
During this time, the operational unit was keeping an eye on the premises that Ilir Paja frequented, as well as being intercepted to prove whether it was the same person or not.
It was the monitoring of one of the telephone numbers that Paja used that led to the discovery of the places where he stayed.
The 49-year-old used regular documents, while during the arrest, an amount of 5 thousand euros was seized.
Ilir Paja was announced as an international wanted person by the Italian authorities after the Milan/Italy Court of Appeal sentenced him to 25 years and 4 months in prison for murder, committed in collaboration and kidnapping. His extradition to Italy is expected.
But who is Ilir Paja?
He was released by judge Enkelejda Hoxha in 2017, with the argument that he was suffering from some illness, although he still had a year in prison to serve.
Ilir Paja was serving a sentence for "intentionally seriously wounding" the police officer Blendi Haxhimiali, during the operation to arrest him, in March 2008, in Tirana. Paja was also accused of several criminal offenses committed in Italian territory, including "intentional murder in an attempted collaboration", "kidnapping and holding a person hostage" and "violent sexual relations with minors".
Although he was arrested in Italy, after several months of imprisonment, in June 2006, he was able to escape from Perugia custody, using sheets as a rope, until his second arrest, on September 4, 2006. The Albanian was imprisoned for 5 months awaiting extradition from Germany, where he was accused of murdering another Albanian in Duisburg.
Ai u ndalua në Itali dhe ndaj tij u shtua edhe akuza për shfrytëzim prostitucioni. Por ai ka mundur të ikë sërish nga burgu, në 14 gusht të 2007-ën, ndërsa policia ishte duke e transportuar me ambulancë, për shkak se i dënuari ishte në gjendje shumë të rëndë psikologjike dhe kishte tentuar disa herë vetëvrasjen.
Kësaj here kishte bërë si i sëmurë psikik dhe kur e kishin transportuar me ambulancë kishte filluar të rënkonte e të tërhiqte vëmendjen e policit kryesor. Kur ky është afruar, Paja i ka dhënë një grusht në fytyrë. Më pas ka hapur derën e autoambulancës dhe është larguar me vrap, ku ka kapërcyer një mur të lartë dhe ka ndjekur linjën e trenit. Edhe pse policët kanë qëlluar në ajër, nuk ka ndaluar. Më pas është futur në një pyll dhe është zhdukur.
After the second escape to Italy, Ilir Paja returned to Tirana, where he lived in hiding, and was arrested again. The "UFO" stayed in the cell for 10 years until the day he was released by former judge Enkeleda Hoxha.
Also, he has been accused as the author of the murder of an Ecuadorian citizen and the wounding of another, after a fight that was motivated by the harassment of an Ecuadorian woman, while she was with her husband. Another serious episode, according to the indictment, was the sexual assault of a 19-year-old Romanian woman.