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17 March, 2009 00:59 (GMT +00:00)
Albanian hit men on hire in London for £5,000
News Desk
The London Daily News has discovered that professional Albanian assassins are "touting" for business in the capital claiming to be able to "take out" targets for as little as £5,000.
In an under cover investigation into criminal gangs operating in north London Albanians who fought in the KLA during the bloody Balkans conflict against Serbia, now have now established themselves as formidable figures in the London's underworld. Experienced users of guns and knives the Albanians are one of the most able assassins in London.
The war in Kosovo fuelled the spread of the Albanian Mafia after numerous gangsters disguised as Kosovar ‘refugees’ found their way into European countries, especially the UK now over ten years since the troubles in the Balkans.
One leading Albanian gangster who spoke to the London Daily News said:
"We can use guns, we control the prostitutes in Soho and we are investing in London heavily. We fear no one and the law cannot do anything to stop us."
Our reporter discovered that to have someone "taken out" according to the unwritten laws in London's criminal underworld, the going rate is around £5,000 with Albanian's using either guns or knives to eliminate the target.
The Albanian mafia is not a pyramid with one leader, rather an organisation with several bosses.
The ownership of the heroin European market, according to police sources from a dozen European countries is in the hands of 30 Albanian mafia families. Each of these families control a specific area of Kosovo which is the main transit point for all drugs.
The Drenica area, which goes through Prizren, Klin and Istok connects Montenegro and FYROM is controlled by the Drenica group whose main profit is drugs, weapons, stolen automobiles, white slavery, cigarettes and alcohol. This mafia is connected with the Albanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Czech mafia.
Most influential Albanian families at the moment are Naser Keljmendi, Ekrem Luka, and Redzep Selimi.
Recent FBI report shows that Albanian mafia overtook the Russian and Italian mafia in New York. Same went for several European cities, including London, Berlin and Prague.
The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson will have the added headache of dealing with ruthless well organised international criminal gangs.
Albanian hit men on hire in London for £5,000
News Desk
The London Daily News has discovered that professional Albanian assassins are "touting" for business in the capital claiming to be able to "take out" targets for as little as £5,000.
In an under cover investigation into criminal gangs operating in north London Albanians who fought in the KLA during the bloody Balkans conflict against Serbia, now have now established themselves as formidable figures in the London's underworld. Experienced users of guns and knives the Albanians are one of the most able assassins in London.
The war in Kosovo fuelled the spread of the Albanian Mafia after numerous gangsters disguised as Kosovar ‘refugees’ found their way into European countries, especially the UK now over ten years since the troubles in the Balkans.
One leading Albanian gangster who spoke to the London Daily News said:
"We can use guns, we control the prostitutes in Soho and we are investing in London heavily. We fear no one and the law cannot do anything to stop us."
Our reporter discovered that to have someone "taken out" according to the unwritten laws in London's criminal underworld, the going rate is around £5,000 with Albanian's using either guns or knives to eliminate the target.
The Albanian mafia is not a pyramid with one leader, rather an organisation with several bosses.
The ownership of the heroin European market, according to police sources from a dozen European countries is in the hands of 30 Albanian mafia families. Each of these families control a specific area of Kosovo which is the main transit point for all drugs.
The Drenica area, which goes through Prizren, Klin and Istok connects Montenegro and FYROM is controlled by the Drenica group whose main profit is drugs, weapons, stolen automobiles, white slavery, cigarettes and alcohol. This mafia is connected with the Albanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Czech mafia.
Most influential Albanian families at the moment are Naser Keljmendi, Ekrem Luka, and Redzep Selimi.
Recent FBI report shows that Albanian mafia overtook the Russian and Italian mafia in New York. Same went for several European cities, including London, Berlin and Prague.
The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson will have the added headache of dealing with ruthless well organised international criminal gangs.
Albania PM: World Bank Panel “Linked To Mafia”
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha accused a World Bank investigative panel of being influenced by the Albanian mafia for their report on a controversial coastal management project that was used to demolish parts of a village and leave many families homeless.
The internal report shows that a World Bank project on coastal zones management in southern Albania aided the demolishment of informal settlements in the village of Jale, in disregard to the Bank’s policies of forced displacement. The report, obtained last week by Balkan Insight, also noted allegations of corruption and efforts at a cover up. The Bank has already announced the suspension of a loan for the project.
“I express my contempt for the unscrupulous slander of the investigative panel in what they call an independent report, but which has been dictated by the Albanian land mafia,” said Berisha in a press conference on Sunday, adding that he had asked World Bank officials to probe the panel’s ties to organized crime.
The investigation by an inspection panel found that World Bank management failed to comply with its policies with respect to the design, appraisal and implementation of the project, harming the local people affected by it. The probe also found that WB assisted the demolition by pressuring local construction police to take action and by supplying them with equipment and aerial photos.
In addition to the project’s failure to comply with World Bank policies, the investigators noted allegations of corruption and complaints that the demolition of the Jale settlements was part of a bigger scheme to develop the area as a tourist resort. While the panel does not evaluate these allegations, it concludes that the selective demolition carried out by construction police supports the intention to clear the area.
The investigative panel also accused World Bank management of misrepresenting facts during the probe and hampering the investigation by withholding access to data, while it notes the unusual lack of recollection of facts and crucial events by staff. Investigators say that several WB staff members both in headquarters and on the field were “coached” to provide unusually consistent but factually incorrect or misleading information.
In a statement for Balkan Insight the World Bank conceded “that mistakes were made in the project, and that ways to address the alleged grievances of those affected are under active consideration.”
“The World Bank is concerned about the errors that were made by management and staff in the context of the project. In accordance with our internal processes, the Bank is reviewing actions of its staff, and, if warranted, will take appropriate action,” the statement said.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha accused a World Bank investigative panel of being influenced by the Albanian mafia for their report on a controversial coastal management project that was used to demolish parts of a village and leave many families homeless.
The internal report shows that a World Bank project on coastal zones management in southern Albania aided the demolishment of informal settlements in the village of Jale, in disregard to the Bank’s policies of forced displacement. The report, obtained last week by Balkan Insight, also noted allegations of corruption and efforts at a cover up. The Bank has already announced the suspension of a loan for the project.
“I express my contempt for the unscrupulous slander of the investigative panel in what they call an independent report, but which has been dictated by the Albanian land mafia,” said Berisha in a press conference on Sunday, adding that he had asked World Bank officials to probe the panel’s ties to organized crime.
The investigation by an inspection panel found that World Bank management failed to comply with its policies with respect to the design, appraisal and implementation of the project, harming the local people affected by it. The probe also found that WB assisted the demolition by pressuring local construction police to take action and by supplying them with equipment and aerial photos.
In addition to the project’s failure to comply with World Bank policies, the investigators noted allegations of corruption and complaints that the demolition of the Jale settlements was part of a bigger scheme to develop the area as a tourist resort. While the panel does not evaluate these allegations, it concludes that the selective demolition carried out by construction police supports the intention to clear the area.
The investigative panel also accused World Bank management of misrepresenting facts during the probe and hampering the investigation by withholding access to data, while it notes the unusual lack of recollection of facts and crucial events by staff. Investigators say that several WB staff members both in headquarters and on the field were “coached” to provide unusually consistent but factually incorrect or misleading information.
In a statement for Balkan Insight the World Bank conceded “that mistakes were made in the project, and that ways to address the alleged grievances of those affected are under active consideration.”
“The World Bank is concerned about the errors that were made by management and staff in the context of the project. In accordance with our internal processes, the Bank is reviewing actions of its staff, and, if warranted, will take appropriate action,” the statement said.
Cops look for clues to rubout of gambler in Bronx's Little Italy
BY Katy Bolger
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Friday, August 7th 2009, 9:02 AM
Related NewsOff-duty detective charged with killing grandma was blind drunkEarly morning shootings leave one dead in Brooklyn; one critical in QueensAfghan cop shoots, kills five British troopsConvicted robber Scott Zielinski can sue for being chased and shotParents of slain student shocked by $29K hospital billPolice were canvassing the Bronx's Little Italy on Thursday for clues to the early morning rubout of a local gambler.
Anton Spaqi, 65, was gunned down at 4 a.m. Wednesday outside his apartment building on Hughes Ave., just behind the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.
"I'm hoping it's not my dad. Please!" screamed Spaqi's son Robert moments before the dead man's identity was confirmed. "Oh my God! Oh my God!"
Spaqi, former owner of the Belmont Caffe Lounge, was coming home from a bartending job in Queens when he was gunned down, neighbors said. He still had nearly $2,000 in cash on him, leading cops to discount robbery as a motive, sources said.
Spaqi, originally from Albania, had more than a dozen prior arrests and had served time on charges of assault and immigrant smuggling, officials said. He was also arrested in a slaying in 1994 though not convicted on that charge.
Detectives yesterday recanvassed the neighborhood and were reviewing tapes from local security cameras, as well as looking for possible motives, including any links to the local Albanian mob.
Hours after the shooting, friends and associates of the victim gathered in a half-dozen Albanian social clubs in the Belmont neighborhood talking about the killing. None seemed surprised.
"He was a good man," said friend Kola Wikoc, 67, sipping espresso at the Belmont Caffe, one of several "members only" clubs Spaqi frequented.
Another coffee drinker muttered, "revenge."
One local man, sitting in the afternoon sunshine, said Spaqi would be missed - "in the gambling world."
As the superintendent of the building hosed blood off the sidewalk, onlookers in the quiet enclave of the Bronx had mixed feelings about neighborhood safety.
"When I first moved in here, it was quiet. Now, more shots from up there," said Francisco Jimenez, 67, pointing toward Crescent Ave. "Now, it's 'pow, pow, pow.'"
A 10-year-old boy and his brother, later leaving a building near the shooting with their mother, said they were awakened by gunfire.
"I heard three shots," said the 10-year-old. "The gunshots woke me up."
His mother said that in spite of the murder, she considers the neighborhood a safe place to live.
Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, which offers a $2,000 reward.
BY Katy Bolger
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Friday, August 7th 2009, 9:02 AM
Related NewsOff-duty detective charged with killing grandma was blind drunkEarly morning shootings leave one dead in Brooklyn; one critical in QueensAfghan cop shoots, kills five British troopsConvicted robber Scott Zielinski can sue for being chased and shotParents of slain student shocked by $29K hospital billPolice were canvassing the Bronx's Little Italy on Thursday for clues to the early morning rubout of a local gambler.
Anton Spaqi, 65, was gunned down at 4 a.m. Wednesday outside his apartment building on Hughes Ave., just behind the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.
"I'm hoping it's not my dad. Please!" screamed Spaqi's son Robert moments before the dead man's identity was confirmed. "Oh my God! Oh my God!"
Spaqi, former owner of the Belmont Caffe Lounge, was coming home from a bartending job in Queens when he was gunned down, neighbors said. He still had nearly $2,000 in cash on him, leading cops to discount robbery as a motive, sources said.
Spaqi, originally from Albania, had more than a dozen prior arrests and had served time on charges of assault and immigrant smuggling, officials said. He was also arrested in a slaying in 1994 though not convicted on that charge.
Detectives yesterday recanvassed the neighborhood and were reviewing tapes from local security cameras, as well as looking for possible motives, including any links to the local Albanian mob.
Hours after the shooting, friends and associates of the victim gathered in a half-dozen Albanian social clubs in the Belmont neighborhood talking about the killing. None seemed surprised.
"He was a good man," said friend Kola Wikoc, 67, sipping espresso at the Belmont Caffe, one of several "members only" clubs Spaqi frequented.
Another coffee drinker muttered, "revenge."
One local man, sitting in the afternoon sunshine, said Spaqi would be missed - "in the gambling world."
As the superintendent of the building hosed blood off the sidewalk, onlookers in the quiet enclave of the Bronx had mixed feelings about neighborhood safety.
"When I first moved in here, it was quiet. Now, more shots from up there," said Francisco Jimenez, 67, pointing toward Crescent Ave. "Now, it's 'pow, pow, pow.'"
A 10-year-old boy and his brother, later leaving a building near the shooting with their mother, said they were awakened by gunfire.
"I heard three shots," said the 10-year-old. "The gunshots woke me up."
His mother said that in spite of the murder, she considers the neighborhood a safe place to live.
Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, which offers a $2,000 reward.
The best thing Macedonia can do? Lock them up or ship them out.
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