Safet Bajri, one of the people accused by the justice system of a series of criminal events, was arrested by order of the Special Prosecution Office on Friday morning, February 21, 2025.
Bajri was summoned to testify at the Shkodra police station where he was informed of the security measure issued against him by the Special Court. From the premises of the local police department, Bajri was then escorted by RENEA forces towards Tirana.
The arrest was carried out by decision of the Special Court, which ordered the security measure “arrest in prison” for Safet and Behar Bajri, and their friend Astmer Bilali, the latter of whom are already arrested in the context of the ‘Metamorphosis’ file.
According to investigations, cousins Bajri and their friend Bilali are suspected of having organized the murder of citizen Fatbardh Lici, an event that occurred on August 10, 2018 in the city of Shkodra.
Safet Bajri was previously investigated as a suspect in this incident, but at that time the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, while now SPAK declares that it has obtained new evidence that puts him on trial again.
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On Wednesday evening, Safet Bajri, on the show “Top Story”, would guarantee Albanians that his name is being misused and that he is not connected to any criminal event. He claimed that he cooperated with the police when his apartment was searched as part of the investigation into the gunfight that occurred in Rranxë i Bushati on August 23, 2024, where the armored vehicle “Audi A8”, in which the two young men were traveling, was hit with a gun.
According to SPAK, they had gone to kill Aleksandër Prendi but were met with barrages from the latter.
During the police search, a savings box with 19 thousand euros inside was found in Bajri’s apartment, which Bajri claimed to have as savings for his 1-year-old daughter.
The officers also seized 2 cell phones, his and his wife’s. Bajri was questioned and released.
Precisely for this event, Safet Bajri was called to testify again at the local police on Friday morning, February 25, 2025. But what should have been a routine procedure turned out to be a security measure for him, his cousin and friend Astmer Bilali.
On February 17, the Special Court had ordered his arrest following charges of “Premeditated Murder” committed in a special form of collaboration, that of a structured criminal group.
The prosecution announced that “evidence has been collected that Safet, Behar Bajri and Astmer Bilali planned, organized and carried out on August 10, 2018 in the city of Shkodra the murder with a firearm of Fatbardh Lici, a relative of citizen Ibrahim Lici.”
Fatbardh Lici was shot dead on August 10, 2018, while he was in a cafe in Shkodra. The incident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. on the outskirts of the city, in the “Kiras” neighborhood. The victim, 53, was drinking coffee with two other people when a person got out of a “Benz” type vehicle, without license plates, and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.
The murder of Fatbardh Lici was investigated as part of a chain of murders that occurred in Shkodra in early 2018. At that time, members of the Bajri family had been under surveillance for at least six months. They were even monitored by drones in their neighborhood. However, evidence implicating the Bajri in the crimes was lacking.
According to the prosecution, Bajri’s arrest is related to the events of 2018, but he and the group are being investigated as suspects for their involvement in the Dobraç massacre a few months ago in Shkodra against the Lici tribe, with 4 people killed, including 2 innocent people.
This is not the first time Safet Bajri has ended up in prison cells.
Bajri was sentenced to 9 years in prison by the Brussels Court of Appeal as the head of a criminal drug trafficking and prostitution organization in the Belgian capital.
In 2018, after returning from Belgium, he was arrested during the operation codenamed “Oaz” along with his cousin Ilir Rustemi (Bajri), Emrah Plaku, former boxing champion Astmer Bilali and Erogen Brajovic, for a series of crimes, but was released shortly after, as the charges of threats and extortion for which he was arrested were not proven.
The Bajri-Lici Revenge Saga
The bloody saga between the Bajri and Lici criminal groups began in 2018 and has produced a series of violent events that have included assassinations, murders and gang revenge. So far, this conflict has left 12 people dead and two missing, while the number of assassinations and clashes between the groups is still increasing.
The clashes between these groups began with a remote-controlled assassination attempt in January 2018 against businessman Lulzim Kulla, in which 8 people were injured, marking the beginning of a spiral of violence that continues today. Over the years, murders related to the revenge between the Bajres and the Licës have involved prominent figures in the city of Shkodra and have shaken state structures.
One of the key events in this conflict was the murder of two brothers, Astrit and Brahim Bilali, on March 30, 2019, where both were executed with Kalashnikov rifles. After this assassination, Ibrahim Lici was put under investigation and is suspected of being the author of this murder. The assassination of the Bilals marked a flashpoint in the conflict between rival groups, who have constantly tried to defeat each other to control territory and illegal activities.
In the aftermath, many other assassinations and murders have rocked Shkodra, such as the murder of Fatbardh Lici in August 2018, an event that is suspected to have been carried out in retaliation by Bajrat. The murders of Arjan Ferracak and Fatos Ferracak are also linked to this clash.
The 2021 murder of Endri Mustafa in the “Livadhet” neighborhood, which is suspected to have been a trap set by the Bajri group, was another event that deepened tensions between the groups. Police have declared Ibrahim Lici wanted, but he denied any connection to the crime, accusing the rival Bilali group of Mustafa’s execution. However, the slow investigation and unreliable evidence have meant that justice remains unclear.
The latest clash has reached its peak, the assassination of October 30, 2024 in Dobraç, where 4 people lost their lives. Hamza Lici, Ibrahim Lici’s brother, and Arlind Bushati, were shot to death, while two innocent people, Flutura and Bashkim Basha, also lost their lives in this bloody assassination. From the camera investigations, it was seen that Ibrahim Lici was also in the targeted car, but he survived after being injured and is still missing.
The Bajri-Lici revenge saga continues to remain a violent story that continues to cause casualties and chaos, while authorities try to unravel the events and break up this criminal network that has kept Shkodra under tension for more than 6 years.
Gazetare në “Rrjetin e Raportimit të Krimit të Organizuar dhe Korrupsionit në Shqipëri”- RRKOKSH.
