How the rivalry between the "Duke Clan" and Ervis Martinaj started/ Revenge of "Prince Damian"

2024-05-18 18:12:00, Kronika CNA

Ervis Martinaj

Within the SPAK operation, one of the largest ever conducted against organized crime, it became possible to arrest Leonard Duke in Belgium.

The Duke, who is known as the head of the "Duke Clan" has applied for asylum in Belgium, but it is expected that it will be rejected and he will be extradited to our country. Because of the life of luxury, friends call him "Prince Damian".

His criminal group that has had an ongoing conflict with the group of Ervis Martinaj, the gambling boss. They had a rivalry in the gambling market, as Leonard and Erlis Duka had extended their illegal activity to the north-eastern area of ??Tirana.

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How did the feud and the saga of the murders begin?

It all started with Ervis Martinaj. The latter took a hostage and physically abused the father of the Duka brothers because of the gambling rivalry. The two brothers swore revenge until the last Martinaj soldier was eliminated.

Initially, they executed ex-policeman Santiago Malko on "Xhanfize Keko" street in August 2019 in Tirana, as he was one of the closest people to the gambling boss. According to SPAK, Malko was executed by Fatmir Hyseni from Vlonia, known as "Doqja" and therefore Martinaj later planned his elimination.

The second murder happened on May 30, 2020 inside a hotel, on the Mamurras-Lezhë axis. The victims were businessman Bujar Lika and Paulin Gjergji, two friends of Martinaj.

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The third assassination took place on November 13, 2021, in the New Ring area in Tirana, where Erigers Mihasi and Armand Dumani were shot inside the car.

About a month later, on December 23, 2021, another Martinaj soldier was executed inside the car. It is about Can Karriq, who was killed in Kamez.

Another assassination attempt was at the Fushë-Kruja crossing on July 17, 2022. In this case, Diklen Vata, Besmir Hoxha and Brilant Martinaj were killed.

The most recent case was the assassination of Martinaj's financier, Ylli Brahim. On the evening of July 22, 2022, right at the main entrance of the apartment of Ylli Brahim or Brahja as it is otherwise known, there was a burst of gunfire, but he escaped and the victim was Klisman Preçi.

A few weeks later, the disappearance of Ervis Martinaj was also reported. As of August 9, 2022, nothing is known about his fate.

Suspicions for these crimes fell on the Duka Clan, but Martinaj also had enmity with other criminal groups./ CNA