Slovenia captures Cobra's brother after 10 years on the run, released in a few days

The fugitive for drug trafficking and migrants, Kosovar with the citizenship of Slovenia and Albania Hoxhaj, has been detained in January this year by Croatian police.

The same had been extradited to Slovenia, since for him the Slovenian state had issued an internal warrant, speaks international arrest and European warrant for arrest and handover.

But, Albania Hoxhaj, whom Croatian police handed over to Slovenian colleagues last Thursday, and these later sent him to custody in Slovenia's town of Koper, is already at large after only a few days.

News of his release has confirmed to Slovenian media lawyer Viktorija Badovinac Schwarz, who defends 36-year-old Hoxhaj. The defendant was released after the appeals court correctly and professionally took into account our facts and correctly implemented the” law, said A lawyer.

Slovenian police had reported last Friday on the arrest of 36. They explained that Croatian police had handed Slovenia over to a Kosovo and Slovenian citizen, who has long been wanted internationally and has been on the run since 2016.

Croatian police had arrested Hoxhaj on January 10th. For him, as reported, the District Court in Koper had issued an internal warrant, speaks international arrest and European warrant for arrest and surrender.

He had disappeared during the final action in the “Cobra” case, when Slovenian investigators arrested several suspects involved in drug trafficking and activities with migrants in October 2016.

After surrendering from Croatia, 36-year-old Hoxhaj stayed only a few days in Coper's custody.

How did Albania's escape happen?

Albania Hoxhaj escaped in October 2016, when criminal investigations in the case “Cbra” in Slovenia were entering the final phase. It was then that he boarded a BMW and printed the gas pedal, but he didn't drive away.

During the dramatic escape, he was forced to leave his car in the parking lot ahead of the former Coper Police Building, near the tunnel, which was open in the opposite direction, and then ran away. According to Slovenian media, eyewitnesses saw him running through the subtunnel toward the four-lane road on the other side, while police officers were behind him wearing masks in a police van, but his tracks were completely lost, Klankosova.tv reports.

However, the tribunal in Koper later sentenced his associates to various penalties for drug trafficking and assistance in illegal border crossings.

His brother Vallon, who was accused of being gang leader, received the worst sentence, nine years and ten months in prison.

Slovenian police at the time exposed gang members to a major operation. They were later charged with about 400 crimes committed in Slovenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo.

In 2019 seven members of the aforementioned criminal group were sentenced. Among those accused of drug trafficking was the third of brothers Hoxaj, Debrani. According to Slovenian media reports, he was later convicted not of drug trafficking, but only of transporting illegal immigrants and sentenced to one year in prison./Periscopi/