The testimony of 31-year-old Kejdi Banaj, arrested two weeks ago after being caught with 4 “Glock” type pistols in his vehicle while traveling towards Saranda, has been revealed.
Banaj, during the hearing for the determination of the security measure, gave his version of the event, claiming that he had no knowledge of the contents of the black bag that was found in his car.
He stated that the person who had put the items in the vehicle was a 26-year-old man with the initials ES, whom he said he had known for many years.
“I have been a drug user for years and I have no idea how the incident happened. They took me home and took me there and I had no idea. I was not aware in the specific case of how the incident happened, I continue to be confused. I have stated the whole truth.
ES took me. I’ve known him for 20 years. He came to me and said we were going to Saranda to find a house to spend a few days at the beach. He was with his bride and child. We hadn’t seen each other for a while. We left his bride in Elbasan, went to Tirana, he took an order and put it in my car, while he took another car.
“What happened on the way happened, they caught me, he ran away because he was driving ahead. When they caught me, I realized what I had in the car. He took the black bag he left in my car with his brother-in-law in Tirana and I didn’t know what was there. He came to see me unexpectedly, I hadn’t seen him for 4 years. At first he asked my father for me, he got my phone number, then he met me,” Banaj declared before the court.
Earlier, during questioning by the police, Banaj had given another account, in which he had also explained how the bag with the gun ended up in his vehicle.
Banaj has been cooperative with the police, revealing his cell phone code and identifying his accomplices.
“He stated that he lives in Tirana, where he has a real estate office in Astir. On 14.07.2026, at around 13:00, a citizen named E., his last name is not remembered, the son of “M…”, who lives on “Rrugën e Kavajës”, went to his business to look for him. He was not there, he met his father and got his phone number, called him on the phone and went downstairs to his house with his wife and daughter. For this, calls on his personal phone with code 2580 can be verified. He asked him to find him an apartment and a car for rent in Saranda.
The three of them left together with his brother-in-law, whose name I don’t know, to Saranda in a car. On 15.07.2026, at around 08:00, he told them to go to get something in Tirana and he would pay him 150 euros to be the driver. He left the car with someone and took the “Citroen” car, with the license plate AB 302 SF, from where I don’t know.
They left and, when they went to Tirana, they stopped near “Hotel I…”, on the highway at “Qafa e Kasharit”, where he got out of the car with his brother-in-law, took a black bag of briars and came to the car, put it behind the seat at his feet and told him to go to Saranda. He took a “Skoda” vehicle, gray, that they had left there, and that he knew that there were illegal items, weapons in the car, but he thought of them as toys”, the investigative file states.
Capture in the Skërfica tunnel
The police operation took place on the Kardhiq-Delvina axis, in the Skërfica tunnel, following information obtained on the operational route that a vehicle rented by Kejdi Banaj would be used to transport firearms towards Saranda.
According to the investigative file, the police also suspected that Banaj would obtain around 500 grams of cocaine in Lushnje, which he would bring to Saranda to sell in small doses.
After following the vehicle, at 16:15, it was stopped in the “Skërfica Tunnel”. Kejdi Banaj was driving the vehicle and during the search, a black plastic bag was found in the rear of the vehicle, under the right-hand passenger seat. Four “Glock” type firearms were found inside.
During the investigation, Banaj compromised 26-year-old ES from Tirana, who has been wanted since March of this year for a similar charge.
The court has ordered Kejdi Banaj to be placed under the security measure of “Arrest in prison”, while investigations continue into other persons suspected of being involved in the incident.