Leonard Duka, accused as one of the perpetrators of the murder of Santiago Malko in 2019, was extradited from Belgium this Friday.
The operation for his extradition was finalized after numerous negotiations by Interpol Tirana, providing the Belgian authorities with the green light to bring the Duke before Albanian justice.
For several years, Leonard Duka has been wanted by both the police and SPAK. He is accused of being one of the organizers of the murder of Santiago Malko in August 2019 in Tirana.
In addition to this event, another charge was added to the 37-year-old, that of providing conditions for murder. This is a criminal offense brought by SPAK within the coded operation "Revenge", finalized thanks to the analysis of the communications developed in the Sky and Encrochat application.
In them, the 37-year-old Duke, assisted by other exponents of the underworld, hatched plans for the physical elimination of Ervis Martinaj and his close social connections, such as Erigers Mihasi.
Who is "Prince Damian"
Known for his enmity with Ervis Martinaj, Leonard Duka is also known as the leader of the criminal group called "Klani Duka". He also gained fame for his relationship with his ex-miss, Trejsi Sejdini.
The police and the prosecution suspect that the Duka clan is one of the groups that has been active in the murder of Ervis Martinaj's friends and the drafting of the plan for his execution by following the movements inside and outside the country through the recruitment of people who have knowledge in tourist agencies as well as State Police.
Leonard and Erlis Duka had established their "empire" operating mainly in the north-eastern area of Tirana, but everything changed in their relations with Martinaj's group, when the latter took a hostage and physically abused their father due to rivalry. among them in the gambling market.
The Duka brothers did not forgive Martinaj for this and started killing people close to him. The most famous execution was that of ex-policeman Santiago Malko on "Xhanfize Keko" street in August 2019 in Tirana. Malko was one of Martinaj's closest people, with whom the saga of executions against the people of the "gambling boss" began.
The Dukes are said to have sworn to the elimination of Martinaj's last soldier and their greatest adversary himself.
Leonard Duka calls himself to his friends as "Prince Damian", a nickname which, according to him, reflects the luxury and life that the 40-year-old has.
It seems that the latter, where hundreds of millions of euros per year are at stake, as well as the revenge of the Duka brothers, are what brought about the continuous murders of Ervis Martinaj's men, leading to his disappearance. The police have no official information on Martinaj's fate, but it is suspected that he was caught by opponents with a lot of money and a death squad at his disposal, taking him out of the game entirely.