The show "On Target" on News24, with author journalist Klodiana Lala, returned this Tuesday with studio discussions about the figure of Ervis Çela, who can be described as the Pablo Escobar of Cocaine.
In the prepared material, through the data of the investigative file, interesting facts are revealed about how 2 of the largest drug trafficking operations in the years of the 2020-2021 pandemic were uncovered, which had Ervis Çelës as the author and Franc Çopja and Fadil Balla as the financiers of the ordered quantity.
Ervis Çela is an Albanian 'Drug Lord'.
Completely unknown to law enforcement authorities, who if the Sky ECC app hadn't been dismantled, would probably never have been able to track him down.
A 'ghost' almost for Albanian justice, but who had strong ties in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay.
Where he was able to corrupt officials of all levels.
He is Ervis Çela. From the village of Fatish in Peqin. Where after a murder committed in Italy he had escaped and settled in Paraguay.
There he had built his drug empire.
Which included the other 3 brothers, Rizain, Albin and Ardjanin.
The 41-year-old was peacefully vacationing with his family in one of the most beautiful coastal areas of Albania, the southern riviera, in Qeparo, when he was suddenly placed in handcuffs by the Directorate of the Special Operational Force of the State Police.
Initially on charges of murder, kidnapping and intimidation.
But in fact, his true activity, as will be seen below, was that of the head of one of the most powerful Albanian criminal organizations in the field of international cocaine trafficking from South America to European Union countries.
Which had turned him, at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, into one of the most powerful and influential Albanians in South America, who, together with several other characters from the underworld, were able to smuggle tons of cocaine through the main ports of Europe.
Despite several failures that had caused them severe headaches, they had not given up, but had persistently continued to bring in more tons.
But who was Ervis Çela and how could he become an Albanian drug lord?
How did he manage to smuggle dozens of tons of cocaine, first from South American ports and then to European ports, unmolested in Paraguay, where he was connected to the most powerful drug 'chefs'?
How did he connect with the now unmistakable character of Franc Çopja, also known by the surname Gergeli, who is currently in a high-security prison in Belgium under suspicion of murdering one of his opponents?
Who are the other characters involved in this unusual cocaine trafficking in terms of size? Among them, as will be seen below, are people who had invested this money in Albania in resorts, or even in football clubs.
Wealth created through drugs that reach the insane amounts of hundreds of millions of euros
Or that they had converted them into gold bars...
But to better understand these characters and their modus operandi, or the way they acted and thought, it is of interest to follow precisely what is now their first documented operation of trafficking 12 tons of cocaine that they undertook at the end of 2020 from distant Paraguay in South America to Europe.
Here, thanks to the conversations they left as evidence in the encrypted Sky Ecc application, we can see who these characters are.
An operation which did not actually immediately lead to their identification.
Because it would take another 3 years of conversation analysis to uncover the leaders and members of this group.
But let's stop at what would be their first real job, and which would suddenly, thanks to their genius, make them so rich that, so to speak, they would even start making fun of the money they earned.
What is related to the trafficking of 11.6 tons of cocaine from Paraguay to Europe.
Drugs that would pass unmolested through the Belgian port of Antwerp at the end of 2020.
A work that had begun to grind in their minds in September of this year, with Ervis Çela as the main protagonist.
An Albanian citizen residing in Paraguay, who, together with a Brazilian citizen, had undertaken the difficult task of transporting this extraordinary amount of drugs from the Port of Villetas in Paraguay to that of Antwerp in Belgium.
Where in this port the one who would be waiting for them and who would guarantee the passage of the drug cargo would be Franc Çopja.
Who was extradited today from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Belgium, on behalf of law enforcement authorities in this country, on charges of ordering the murder of Arian Spahiu, known as Arjani i Vogël, in the Molenbeek neighborhood in 2020.
The 'soldier' of the gang led by Erion Alibej, his most sworn opponent in Albania.
Franc Çopja, who was a major financier of two drug shipments passing through the port of Antwerp, where his share was 5.5 tons of cocaine.
While another part, as will be learned below, belonged to another Albanian citizen, Fadil Balla, or otherwise known as General Julian Balla.
Who in recent years has held the position of President of the 'Erzeni' Football Club, which represents the Shijak team.
A team that, during Balla's management, was catapulted from the inferior leagues where it was playing to the elite of Albanian football.
Balla, an unknown character until his arrest, had also benefited through his companies from public tenders for cleaning the city.
But in the meantime, he had created an illegal landfill, such as the one in Hardishtë in Shijak.
Which was polluting the entire environment of the area.
Characters, where the heads of the criminal group were Ervis Çela and Franc Çopja.
The cell that had chosen to transport these large quantities of drugs, through a previously unheard of form.
The one where one of the two cocaine shipments would be hidden in a soap box.
Loads divided into 7 and 4.6 tons each
Of which, as we said, 80 kg were purchased from Ervis Çela by Fadil Balla.
Who would then buy another 720, totaling 800 kg.
Drugs which, after passing through the port of Antwerp, would be stored in garages previously secured by Franc Çopja.
Which, after pulling the full quantity of 11.6 tons upon leaving the Port of Antwerp, would launch another operation.
That of distributing cocaine to associates.
Here, several other characters appear on the scene who, based on the order issued by Çopja, had withdrawn the drugs from the port.
Two of these collaborators were Muharrem Daja and Nilson Bakiu.
Who, upon receiving instructions from Miklovan Mullaj, another associate of Franc Çopja, stored part of the drugs, the one belonging to Fadil Balla, in an apartment in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
But the journey of these cocaine shipments from Paraguay to Belgium did not seem to have gone smoothly for the organizers.
Although the most damaged person in this operation turns out to be Fadil Balla.
The 600 kg of drugs were seized on the same day they landed at the Port of Antwerp and were stored in the apartment they took over in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
This follows reports that Dutch police had received since September about suspicious movements of two people in this apartment block.
Where the observations revealed that the persons were Muharrem Daja and Nilson Bakiu.
Already sentenced by a court in the Netherlands to 5 years in prison for collaborating in drug trafficking.
But as we said, what seems to expose the entire group that was involved in this drug trafficking, as well as other ongoing episodes, would be the conversations they had during all this time on Sky Ecc.
Communications that initially begin between Ervis Çela and Fadil Balla.
Cela, from Paraguay, where he is, writes to his friend and collaborator that the shipment is ready.
Implying that the cocaine was already 'cooked' and ready for the long haul.
'I've got them ready. Next week with kismet, brother,' Ervis Çela writes to Fadil Balla.
But while he has prepared the 'cart' to transport the cocaine, Ervis Çela also takes care to collect the money from those who were the Albanian customers.
Because then he would also have to pay the 'chefs' up in the mountains who had taken care of cooking the goods.
This is also the case with his conversation with one of his brothers, in this case Albin Çela, who, as can be seen, is often interested in knowing whether the people who ordered the drugs brought the money to him in Albania.
Here where he also mentions 'Shijaks'.
Which is actually none other than Fadil Balla, who is also called 'Jul'.
Conversations on Sky Ecc
6 September 2020
Ervis Çela talks to his brother Albin Çela
'Did you get any money today?
Shijaksi… I believe he will come tomorrow…
'Now you do it quickly... People are afraid... There are no drivers to bring the money...'
'I have a lot of money in Holland. I can't send it…'.
From the analysis of the conversations, what is implied is that Ervis Çela has a sum of 15 million dollars to collect from those who ordered the drugs from him.
But what seem most valuable are the conversations he has during this time with Franc Çopjan.
Like this one from September 7, 2020. Where the whole conversation revolves around the money that needs to be raised before the cargo leaves on September 12 from the Paraguayan port of Villetas.
Which means that Franc Çopja has a sum of 7 million euros to hand over to Ervis Çela.
The latter, who in turn has in this cargo a quantity of 780 kg of cocaine which is worth 21 million euros on the market.
This is where the nicknames of some of the members of the criminal group also appear.
Specifically 'Iphone', identified as Petrit Lakatos and Miklovan Mullaj known as 'Batman'.
Meanwhile, Ervis Çela, for his part, asks Franc Çopja to look into the possibility of taking the money to Albania, why not by truck.
Sky Ecc Talks
7 September 2020
Franc Çopja writes to Ervis Çela
'You have the opportunity to take 7 million today, twice, once 4, once 3'.
'856-15% (128.5) 727.5 x 30 000=Total 21 825 000 euros'.
As a good friend and a diligent collaborator who blindly believes in organizational skills, Franc Çopja does not hesitate to repay Ervis Çela in the future.
They do this through various transfers, which are also revealed in their communications.
To whom he transfers the entire amount of 21 million euros that belongs to him, which corresponds to the kilograms of cocaine that he has in the two initially hidden loads.
Likewise, on the other hand, Ervis Çela assures his brother that Fadil Balla, known as 'Shijaksi', will also bring the amount of money he owes.
Sky Ecc Talk
Ervis asks Franc for an apartment where he can leave an amount that is suspected to be 10 million euros.
'If you had a nice house...'
Franc replies that it is impossible.
September 7, 2020
Ervis Çela communicates with Albin Çela.
The latter tells him that Fadil Balla has handed him an amount of 510 thousand euros.
8 September 2020
Franc Çopja sends a list of payments made mainly in Bolivia along with their unique codes called 'tokens' for a total payment of $21.
Immediately after these banking movements, along with the money, it seems that goods also begin to move towards the Paraguayan port of Villetas.
Something that Ervis Çela himself communicates to Franc Çopja.
Who in turn confirms that the trucks with goods are ready to leave.
A fact which he also accompanies with photos of the cargo.
Cela, along with them, shows his interlocutor several metal boxes with the black inscription 'Fox'.
Sky Ecc Talks
9 September 2020
Ervis Çela talks to Franc Çopjan.
'The trucks with the goods are about to leave. I've divided them into two parts. I'm taking them to the official warehouse. Tomorrow they'll go to the port. Yesterday we took one box to the port, today two, tomorrow two.'
What seems to reveal for the first time the way the cocaine packages were packaged is actually the conversation that Ervis Çela has with Fadil Balla.
To whom he also tells in detail how they can identify through special inscriptions.
In another conversation with Fadil Balla, Ervis Çela also tells him about the way he packaged his quantity of drugs.
As well as the distinguishing marks by which he can identify the drug packages that were ordered by him.
Sky Ecc Talk
September 11
Ervis Çela writes to Fadil Balla
Meanwhile, he sends them two photos showing the packaging with the sign 'Anxious eyes with lightning in the middle'.
'Careful with the photos...I have 6 thousand of these...'
'Wait, you have exactly 200 in this soy... 100 you put somewhere else... And 100 in another place... Because I know what you want.'
On this same day, Ervis Çela also sent the long-awaited good news to the group, that the cocaine shipment had already set off on its long journey.
From the port of Villetas in Paraguay, then to Buenos Aires in Argentina, with the final destination being Antwerp in Belgium.
And they just had to open their arms to welcome him.
As well as crossing their fingers that everything would go well.
Sky Ecc Talk
Ervis Çela writes in the group
'Container on board…'
Franci asks: Were they charged?
Ervis responds
'Yes. I hope it arrives in Argentina soon.'
After they have secured the shipment and excitement seems to be at its highest, Ervis Çela is caught in conversation with his brother Albin, to whom he suggests that now that they have earned so much money, it would be a good idea to open a wool factory and cut fictitious invoices.
This is in order to justify the large amounts of money they have earned from drugs and by investing it in businesses.
At one point, Ervis Çela even tells his brother that he's not playing at all.
And he's getting tired of doing calculations here.
