Aleksandër Kola's testimony, one of the key pieces of evidence in the investigation against Violand Braçellari. According to his statements to investigators, Kola indicated that he had started working in Bode at Braçellari's farm in mid-May 2026, after being offered a monthly salary of around 1200 euros to do the work of a shepherd.
He stated that throughout the time he stayed at the camp for several weeks, Braçellari constantly carried firearms with him, specifically a Kalashnikov automatic weapon and a double-barreled shotgun. In his testimony, Kola claimed that he had noticed Braçellari's behavior, which was attentive to every movement of other people near the camp and that the latter often left for the mountain as soon as he received phone calls warning him of suspicious movements in the area. According to him, a few days before the incident, Braçellari had left with a gun after being notified that unknown vehicles were approaching the camp.
Another moment that Kola mentions is precisely his conflict that occurred on June 3, 2026. Kola stated that he had asked to leave for a few days due to his mother's health condition, but the request was rejected by Braçellari. According to him, the debate escalated into insults, threats and physical violence, while he claims that Braçellari pointed a gun at him several times, threatening him with death. Aleksandër Kola (the shepherd) stated that he left the stable in fear, taking his personal belongings with him after seeing many suspicious things that threatened his life. He then filed a police report, a report that became one of the elements that led to the organization of the operation to capture Violand Braçellari.
"On 03.06.2026, citizen Aleksandër Kola appeared at the Maliq Police Station to file a criminal report. In his report, this citizen stated that he had been in Durrës and had met with a citizen who was a cousin of Violand and told him why he was staying here with little money, but to go to a job that he would give him where he could earn more money and he was in Maliq and they exchanged phone numbers and communicated and spoke to the number 068….. He himself spoke to this number and I do not know who holds it, he (Violandi) or his mother. After speaking with him on the phone, on 14.05.2026, he left him with a boy who took him to a village and there he was picked up by this person, Violandi, who took him in a gray “Nisan” jeep and there he started for the farm and saw an environment with many cows, his house and that he lives there alone with his mother and that there are many dogs around. Aleksandër Kola worked as a stable worker and they had made a deal with him for a salary of 120.000 old lek. During the entire time he has seen him, he has noticed that he carries weapons with him, a Kalash automatic rifle and a pair of two-shot rifles and several times they have gone out together and hunted with that couple and when he carried the pair he also carried the Kalash with him. As far as he has seen, he also has another phone, but he keeps it without a number and talks to his mother's internet. And that during these days only his brother comes there to the stable and no one else. A few days ago, if I am not mistaken it was the 27th, he was working and someone called him and told him that some cars with black windows were going up to the stable and that at that moment he ran away and said that he was running away because he had a job and he took the Kalash, that he keeps at the stable door and ran away through the thorns on the mountain. Today, around 6:30 PM, he was at the stable and made several trips by car to carry flour for the cows and after that he had another trip to make. Around 3:00 PM he ate some bread and went downstairs, when he saw Violand on the way up to the stable, coming around in secret.
At that time, Aleksandr was called by his sister and told that their mother was sick and that he had to go home. After these words from his sister, Aleksandr told Violand that he had to go to Durrës because his mother was sick and that he did not want any money and that he would return and that he was not even taking his clothes with him, but only asked for some money for the road, but Violand started to raise his voice at that time. Initially, he told her that they had not left him like this and that they had talked about staying for three months without leaving. Aleksandr told her that he was going to the trouble for two days and not a day more and that he was not taking anything and that he would return. He (Violandi) started to curse from the house and Aleksandr cursed him and Violand started to punch him and he kept the gun with him the whole time. He was looking at it and thought that he had something that kept the gun with him all the time and only the day before he had found out from Violand's mother that he had been involved with the police for drugs, but he didn't know for sure and that was why he kept the gun with him. During the entire time that Aleksandr was there, no one came. During that time, he often kept his mother's phone with him and that when he picked it up, he would run away into the mountains, but Aleksandr doesn't know who took it. When he shot them today, no one was present, so it was only Aleksandr and Violand and the latter, what he didn't say, cursed him out of the house and then when there was a noise, he came to his mother. Violandi drove the Kalash several times, but his mother would come and intervene, and Aleksandr told him to kill her, what should he say, and at around 20:30 p.m. he called a taxi, which came and picked him up by car, but he didn't know the names of the places, but he came down from the mountain on foot. At that time, only Violandi and his mother were there, and no one else. Aleksandr was threatened by Violandi for no reason, but only because he wanted to take two days off work to see his sick mother. He was cursed at by the housekeeper and he pointed his gun at him several times and said he would kill him here in the mountains and when he broke away from him, he took a suitcase of clothes and ran away from the tent, because he was afraid that Violendi would follow him and when he noticed him, he followed him in a jeep, parked his "Nissan" and when he saw that he was afraid, he turned off the road and Aleksandr went down to the bridge.
Subsequently, a record was kept of the data collection from the person who had knowledge of the criminal offense, citizen Aleksandër Kola, who indicated the same circumstances of the investigation as he had presented in the criminal report filed by him at the Maliq Police Station. A decision was also made to conduct a forensic medical examination of citizen Aleksandër Kola.
On 04.06.2026, a record was kept of the re-obtaining of data from the person who had knowledge of the criminal offense, citizen Aleksandër Kola, who stated that in April 2026 he was employed illegally (uninsured) at a car wash in the city of Durrës, whose owner was called Andi. While working at the aforementioned car wash, he befriended a citizen, whose name he does not remember, and this citizen owned a white "Range-Rover" vehicle. This citizen initially asked him how much he earned and after Aleksandar replied about 600 (six hundred) euros, this person offered him a job as a "shepherd" with an acquaintance of his, where the payment would be 1200 (one thousand two hundred) euros. After accepting, the aforementioned citizen gave him the phone number +3556……, which is Violand's number, whom he initially called and on 14.05.2026 he met and started working at his farm near the town of Maliq, where he took care of the livestock. Yesterday, he had an argument with Violand, a fact for which he filed a report at the Maliq Police Station. Asked about the fact that during the time he stayed in the company of citizen Violand Braçellari, the latter mentioned that he had contacts or communications with police officers, and citizen Aleksandër Kola responded that as far as he remembers, on one occasion while Violand was telling him about his past in the state of Greece, he mentioned the fact that he had a cousin, an aunt's son, who worked with "crimes" in Korça. Asked if he had participated in the action carried out today by the Korça Local Police Directorate to capture citizen Violand Braçellari, citizen Aleksandër Kola replied that after filing the report, the Chief of the Maliq Police Station asked him to show him the location of the place where citizen Violand Braçellari was staying/sleeping, as a police check would be carried out. Today, on 04.06.2026, at around 05:00 in the morning, the Chief of the Maliq Police Station called him on the "WhatsApp" communication application and after meeting him, gave him a mask and a police-style T-shirt with the inscription "POLICIA", which he wore. He then set off with police officers to the aforementioned location, where he traveled in a gray SUV-type vehicle. When asked about how many police vehicles he found participated in the operation to capture citizen Violand Braçellari, citizen Aleksandër Kola responded that there were five vehicles, specifically 1 (one) white "Foristradë", 1 (one) gray "Foristradë", 1 (one) police van, 1 (one) white Range-Rover, and 1 (one) gray "Foristradë". When asked at what time they arrived at the location where citizen Violand Braçellari was, citizen Aleksandër Kola responded that around 06:30-07:00. Initially, the aforementioned vehicles stopped at a distance of 100-200 meters from the place where Violand Braçellari was located, and after all the police officers got out, he remembered that they were wearing bulletproof equipment and were armed with "automatic" weapons. Then, the police officers lined up and in front of them stood 4 (four) other officers, who were believed to be their leaders and who gave orders on how the search would be conducted. At one point, one of them, of average build, addressed the police officers with the words "No words" and ordered their organized dispersion into groups of 4 (four) people. After the police officers entered for a search, they heard gunshots and the words "Hand over the weapon" and found that an officer had been injured in the jaw. "Then, together with the employees, he came to the premises of the Korça Local Police Directorate," the file states.
