FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Disguised as a motorcycle pizza delivery man, surveillance footage shows a hitman quietly entering a seaside bar in Albania and shooting businessman Ardian Nikulaj seven times with a pistol.
The shocking video of the brutal execution may look like a scene from a Hollywood thriller. But this was a real murder, the latest chapter in a 30-year feud that has so far claimed eight lives. And unusually, at the centre of this deadly clash are now several Britons and their associates.
The entire series of murders took place in a deep area of northern Albania, where an ancient code of revenge still reigns.
However, Ardian's murder was unique in the country's bloody history, because for the first time a foreign team of assassins was recruited from Britain.
While Albanian police fear further bloodshed, the next phase of this endless war between the two families is taking place in British courts, where those accused of the murder of Ardian Nikulaj are fighting extradition to Albania to stand trial.
As the appeal continues, The Sun travelled to Albania to retrace the steps of the suspected assassination squad in the days and hours before the assassination.
Ardian's devastated family also opened the evidence file that, according to them, clearly shows who was behind the brutal murder.
They also revealed fears that the chain of murders is not over yet, Ardian's brother has been warned that there is a £1.7 million reward on his head, while enemies in Britain are searching the world for a killer willing to take the contract.
Ardian's widow, Rudina, 49, burst into tears as she told The Sun: "The killings must stop, there has been enough. We demand justice for Ardian and we beg the UK to do the right thing and send these people here to face justice. But the bloodshed must end. Many children have been left fatherless."
The feud began in 1997, when Ardian's brother, Pëllumb Nikulaj, worked as a security guard at a gas station and clashed with the Lekstakaj family.
A young man had left without paying after filling up his car with gas, so Pëllumb went to talk to his father to demand payment. A few hours later, a group of seven people, armed with automatic weapons, arrived at the gas station and killed Pëllumb Nikulaj and the business owner.
Over the next two years, there were three more murders: two members of the Lekstakaj family and a gunman from the same family, after he had ambushed Pëllumbi's uncle, Nikoll Nikulaj.
Pas kësaj, hasmëria mbeti e heshtur për 24 vjet, derisa shpërtheu sërish në një ditë me diell në prill të vitit 2023, në resortin bregdetar të Shëngjinit.
Në orën 13:23, biznesmeni dhe politikani lokal Ardian Nikulaj, 51 vjeç, u ul në një tavolinë në barin buzë detit që zotëronte, pranë hotelit Coral, të cilin e drejtonte bashkë me vëllain e tij Arbenin.
Pak sekonda pasi mori një telefonatë në celular, ai ngriti kokën dhe pa një person që dukej si korrier me motor duke hyrë në lokal.
Teksa personi, i maskuar me një maskë kirurgjikale, iu afrua tavolinës së Ardianit, futi dorën në xhepin e djathtë të pantallonave dhe nxori një armë zjarri.
Duke iu afruar gjithnjë e më shumë me çdo të shtënë, ai qëlloi shtatë herë, duke e goditur biznesmenin e pambrojtur, i cili u shemb i pajetë mbi karrige.
Vrasësi doli me vrap nga lokali dhe hipi në motorin që e kishte lënë të ndezur aty pranë. Më pas u drejtua nga jugu, kaloi kufirin grek dhe, sipas policisë, u arratis drejt Marokut për t’u fshehur.
Policia beson se pamjet e kamerave tregojnë Ruben Saraiva, shtetas portugez që kishte jetuar për vite me radhë në Britani, duke u larguar nga vendi i krimit me motor.
Hetuesit arritën të sigurojnë ekstradimin e Saraivës pasi e gjurmuan në Marok, dhe ai tashmë do të përballet me gjyq në Shqipëri për vrasje.
Një tjetër i dyshuar është britaniku Harry Simpson, 34 vjeç, një trafikant droge i dënuar më parë nga jugu i Londrës.
I dyshuari si organizator i atentatit është Edmond Haxhia, 40 vjeç, britaniko-shqiptar nga Birminghami, kushëri i vëllezërve të familjes që ndodhen në hasmëri me familjen e Ardian Nikulajt.
Pamjet e kamerave tregojnë gjithashtu Harriet Bridgeman dhe Steven Hunt duke u regjistruar në hotelin e Ardianit. Ata akuzohen se kanë qenë pjesë e vëzhgimit të lëvizjeve të viktimës para vrasjes.
Bashkëshortja e Ardianit prej 22 vitesh, Rudina, ndodhej në apartamentin e tyre dy kate mbi bar, pa dijeni për ngjarjen, derisa një kameriere e tmerruar hyri duke bërtitur se ai ishte qëlluar. Ajo tregon se: “Të gjithë bërtisnin dhe bëhej rrëmujë. Ishte tmerr”.
Mysafirët misteriozë britanikë
Policia nisi hetimet dhe shpejt dyshimet u përqendruan te disa britanikë që kishin qëndruar në hotelin e Ardianit. Mes tyre ishte Harry Simpson, i cili kishte disa ditë aty dhe sjellja e tij u duk e çuditshme për familjen edhe para atentatit.
Rudina tha: “Sa herë që porosiste një shishe birre, nuk e linte kurrë shishen bosh. E merrte me vete. Na dukej e çuditshme. Gjithmonë ishte në telefon duke filmuar pjesë të ndryshme të hotelit. Madje u përpoq të hynte në një zonë private vetëm për stafin, duke filmuar”.
Policia u fokusua gjithashtu te Harriet Bridgeman, 30 vjeçe, nënë e re. Të dhënat e regjistrimit tregojnë se ajo kishte rezervuar një dhomë treshe me ballkon për katër net përmes Booking.com, me kosto 388 euro.
She arrived on Monday, April 3, about two weeks before the assassination, and quickly raised suspicions due to her attempts to get close to Ardian.
His brother, Arben, said: “She spoke to him as if she wanted to get to know him, but he didn’t speak English. The staff asked her to speak to a waiter who knew English. At one point, her credit card didn’t work and Ardian said he would pay for it. The same thing happened with the taxi. He was a generous man, to the point of self-sacrifice . ”
An Albanian organized crime expert said: “Efforts to eliminate Ardian Nikulaj began in 2021. But no one in the country accepted the £1.7 million contract, so he was sought outside Albania.”
He added that Ardiani had been warned and had increased security measures, but the only place he moved without a guard was his hotel and bar, where he felt safe thanks to modern cameras, the very cameras that recorded his murder.
The fight for justice
After the assassination, police found the getaway motorcycle dumped in a river. It was revealed that it had been sold online shortly before the murder. The seller told investigators that the buyer was a woman, who later stated that her boyfriend, Edmond Haxhia, had used her documents to purchase the motorcycle.
The same woman had also picked up two men from Tirana airport before the assassination: Simpson and Ruben Saraiva.
Investigators believe Saraiva was the perpetrator, and after being located in Morocco, his extradition to Albania was secured. He is the only one of the suspect group currently in Albania for trial.
If the extradition request is approved, Haxhia, Simpson, Steven Hunt, Thomas Mithan and Harriet Bridgeman will also sit in the dock.
Bridgeman is currently hiding at a secret address, fearing he could become a target for Albanian criminals.
The extradition request was initially approved at Westminster Magistrates' Court in August, although the decision on Hunt was postponed for health reasons.
Judge Daniel Sternberg stated that the Albanian government claims that Edmond Haxhia organized the assassination, Ruben Saraiva carried out the murder, while the others participated in observing and planning the execution.
All of the defendants deny involvement and have appealed the verdict to the High Court in London. A final decision is expected soon.
In Shëngjin, Ardian's brother, Arben Nikulaj, lives every day in fear. He said: "Every night I kiss my children without knowing if I will see them again in the morning."
At the Coral Bar, the table where Ardian was killed carries a "reserved" sign forever.
His daughter, Ambra, 23, said: "No one will be served at that table again. It helps us remember him every day. He was more than my father. He was my hero."
Lini një Përgjigje