New details have emerged from the gunfight in the Mikrolimano area of Athens, where 41-year-old Albanian Alessio Xhelo, known as “Titi”, was injured.
The incident has raised strong questions about how he managed to return to Greece, while until a few months ago he was kept under “House Arrest” in Fier under constant surveillance by FNSH agents. Xhelo was considered a high-risk person, wanted by Greek justice for a series of serious crimes, while Albanian authorities guarded him 24 hours a day in his apartment due to precedents and suspicions of escape.
According to sources, “Titi” not only broke the security measure, but is suspected of having crossed the border under still unclear circumstances, defying police control. This is precisely the darkest point in the story: how could a person considered extremely dangerous, monitored by the FNSH and with open files for arms trafficking, hostage-taking and attempted murder against the police, leave Albania without being detected? Suspicions are growing that he may have had help from criminal networks, while his escape is being seen as a serious failure of the security and surveillance system.
In Athens, the clash with the police ended with his injury, while three firearms and six grenades were found at the scene. Xhelo had a long criminal history in Greece, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and was involved in several shootouts with the police. He had escaped from Petro Ralli prison in 2019 by taking a guard hostage, and was later arrested in Albania. Now, his return to Greece and his armed presence in Athens are shocking not only the Greek authorities, but also the Albanian ones, who are expected to provide explanations as to how a person under the custody of the FNSH ended up again in the heart of the criminal world in Athens. /JOQ