The Constitutional Court has rejected the appeal of Saimir Çela, convicted of the robbery of 4.6 million euros at Rinas Airport, deciding not to refer the case for consideration in a plenary session.
In his appeal, Çela had objected, among other things, to an environmental wiretap recorded in the detention facilities on the day of his arrest.
“What the hell, I knew it,” was the sentence recorded during a conversation between Çela and the other arrestee, Renaldo Sulaj.
According to the reasoning of the Constitutional Court, this conversation showed that the two arrested were aware of the reason for their detention.
But wiretapping was not the only element taken into consideration in the process. The decision also mentions 508 phone calls made by Çela with two other people involved in the 2019 robbery.
Another element was the testimony of the associate of justice Alkond Bengasi. He told the investigators how, according to him, the robbery plan was organized.
Bengasi recounted the meetings held between members of the group, the study of the movement of money transfers, and the adaptation of vehicles used in the robbery, where the inscription “Tax Investigation” was placed.
His testimony also includes providing the tools to open the airport’s emergency doors and the weapons used by the group, which, according to investigations, was led by Admir Murati. The latter was killed during a clash with the police after the robbery.
For the robbery of millions of euros in Rinas, the defendants tried together have been sentenced to a total of 122 years in prison. In addition to Saimir Çela, the brothers Klement and Eldi Çala have also appealed to the Constitutional Court
In a separate trial, Talo Çela was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Meanwhile, authorities have raised suspicions that the Rinas robbery may have produced other criminal conflicts, including incidents with victims, matters that remain the subject of investigations.