FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In the center of the city of Kuçova, in an area of public importance, construction of a car wash has begun by a dark underworld figure, Gert Mara, known to law enforcement authorities as a drug trafficker and involved in criminal activity in the south of the country.
Kuçova was once known as “Kuçova of intellectuals”, a city with a rich educational and cultural history and a strong tradition of citizenship. Today, unfortunately, that identity is rapidly fading, being replaced by a grim reality where drug traffickers and organized crime have taken command. Instead of the professors, doctors and engineers who once led with knowledge and integrity, today we have incriminated figures who build without permits, seize public property and run the city behind the scenes with the support of local government. Kuçova is no longer a symbol of knowledge, it has become a frightening laboratory of state capture by drug traffickers.
In a normal country, when the government announces a campaign against illegal construction, local institutions line up to enforce the law. In the Albania of 2025, the opposite happens, while in Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan and Shkodër actions against the usurpation of public spaces receive national attention, in Kuçovë a grotesque event takes place that sounds like a parody of legality, but is a bitter reality.
In this small town in the Berat region, the local government has declared war on the state itself, while illegal construction is openly sponsored by the Municipality. And at the head of this political and institutional masquerade is Kreshnik Hajdari, the mayor who, with unprecedented arrogance, publicly declares “I am Edi Rama of Kuçova.” Hajdari’s declaration, which to some may sound like a provincial joke, is in fact a manifesto of degraded power, which no longer obeys either the law or the authority of the central government, but only personal interests, clientelistic connections and secret agreements.
In the center of the city of Kuçova, in an area of public importance, the construction of a car wash has begun by a dark underworld figure, Gert Mara, known to law enforcement authorities as a drug trafficker and involved in criminal activities in the south of the country. The purpose of the operating permit was not at all for the opening of a car wash, but for the illegal transfer of public property, giving drug trafficking and criminal interests complete control over the city's spaces and resources. This is not just a formal deception, but a deliberate strategy to capture institutions and cover criminal activities under the guise of legality.
But it is not simply the construction of a car wash that is the problem. It is the symbolism that this act carries, in Kuçova, crime not only builds, but builds in the middle of the city, with the "blessing" of the municipality, with the silence of the police and with the signatures of corrupt officials who hide behind the files. The construction has started without permission, without documentation, without any verification from the IMT.
In fact, more than silence, there is an active cooperation of local structures, which is clearly visible in the images circulating on the network: a police van parked right next to the construction without permission, without reacting, without investigating, without stopping anything. Local sources speak of a payment of 3 thousand euros, divided in "shares" between the head of the Kuçova Police Commissariat and the director of the Berat Police. All this happens in silence, while citizens see every day how the law is applied only to the weak, while the strong build with their shoulders behind the wall of the state.
Faced with public pressure, Shkëlqim Xhezairaj, the deputy director of the Berat Police, appears on the scene, arriving at the scene to control the situation. But Xhezairaj is not an unknown name. He has previously been implicated in a narcotics affair, for which he has only been given a disciplinary "remark" and was not arrested despite the fact that he was the organizer of this cultivation.
What does Mr. Xhezairaj do in Kuçovë? He does not stop the construction without a permit, but he finds that Gert Mara has a permit for a car wash issued by the municipality. The strange thing is that for a car wash you need at least three documents, the permit for the use of the building, the construction permit, and the permit from the Fier water basin. The latter two do not exist. But for the police, this detail does not matter. Instead of proceeding with the construction without a permit, Xhezairaj decides to proceed only with the opening of a water well, while the building is growing every day as a monument to illegality.
The file of the illegal construction has been sent to IKMT Berat, where Amarildo Tafa is the director. Will he act according to the law? Or will he turn a blind eye due to personal connections with the builder without a permit? Sources speak of suspicious meetings between Gert Mara and the directors of IKMT. The question that arises is, How much money was given to mitigate or eliminate the file? Will the trafficker be helped by his friends in the administration?
Now, everything is in the hands of the Berat Prosecutor's Office. It is tasked with investigating a case where the interests of local government, crime and official corruption collide. Kreshnik Hajdari, Gert Mara, the leaders of IMT, the local police and key figures of IKMT are part of a suspected corruption chain, where public properties are treated as war booty and where the state functions as a guarantee for crime. If the prosecution does not act, then this is no longer a Kuçova scandal, but the scandal of a state that has finally surrendered in the face of organized crime and abuse of power. If a mayor declares himself "Edi Rama of Kuçova", builds without permission, distributes public property to traffickers and openly challenges the government, then the question arises, Will Edi Rama act? Will he dismiss Kreshnik Hajdari? Will he order an investigation of the Berat police, the arrest of Gert Mara and the prosecution of the officials who have bargained with the files? Or will this event pass like many others, with a status on social media, an ironic smile at a conference, and a new painted facade in some other municipality?
Amarildo Tafa is expected to face arrest for manipulating this file, a development that sheds light on the depth of corruption and the close ties between local institutions and criminal groups in Kuçovë. As head of the IKMT in Berat, Tafa was responsible for verifying and approving the documentation of Gert Mara, a known drug trafficker, allowing abuses of public property and illegal construction to continue unhindered. His arrest will be a strong test for the justice institutions in Albania, showing whether they are ready to crack down on corruption at the highest levels and protect the law, or whether they will continue to remain hostage to criminal policies and interests that are destroying citizens’ trust in the rule of law.
The issue of imposing a prison sentence on drug trafficker Gert Mara remains one of the hottest questions of the moment for the citizens of Kucova. Considering the gravity of the charges and the fact that he is suspected of being involved in a criminal network that controls public spaces and collaborates with local government structures, the expectations are that justice will act decisively. However, recent history in the country shows a pattern of avoiding responsibility for individuals with deep political and criminal connections. If the prosecution and judiciary are to be independent and courageous, the prison sentence for Gert Mara should be inevitable, sending a strong message against the capture of institutions and the impunity of crime. Otherwise, any delay or relief would further strengthen the feeling of injustice and impunity that prevails in this case./ In-Front.org
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