Organizing gambling and revealing state secrets/ Court sentences former head of SHISH and his son

2025-12-15 16:33:00, Aktualitet CNA

Organizing gambling and revealing state secrets/ Court sentences former head of

The Berat court has convicted and found guilty the former director of SHISH, Aleksandër Shulla, and his son.

They are charged with "Organizing or conducting gambling activities in violation of the law", "Unauthorized possession and production of weapons, explosive weapons and ammunition", and "Revealing state secrets by a person entrusted to them".

The court sentenced the father and son to prison, which was later converted to probation. Aleksandër Shullë was also banned from holding public office for 5 years.

Prosecutor's Office Announcement

At the request of the Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, Berat, citizens Pandeli Shulla, former director of the State Intelligence Service, were found guilty and sentenced for the criminal offense of 'Organizing or exercising gambling activities in violation of the law' provided for by article 197/1 of the Criminal Code, and citizen Aleksandër Shulla, his son, for the criminal offenses of "Unauthorized possession and production of weapons, explosive weapons and ammunition" provided for by article 278/3 of the Criminal Code and "Revelation of state secrets by a person entrusted to him" provided for by article 294/1 of the Criminal Code.

From the investigations into criminal proceedings no. 370 of 2023, following information that in an environment in the '30 Vjetori' neighborhood in a bar run by citizen P.Sh., games of chance were being played, computers of various brands were found, turned on and online games similar to those of Adex Casino were displayed on the screens.

From technical verification, it was proven that through an application or software installed on these electronic devices, by connecting to the internet, online games of chance were being played.

During the investigation, a search was conducted of the apartment of citizen A.Sh., his father, where a bronze-colored metal comb with 5 unexploded 7.62 mm caliber cartridges, a black handbag inside which 3 combs were found, each filled with 7 7.62 mm caliber cartridges, and two USBs with the inscriptions "Turbox" and "Kingston".

This citizen, who served as Director of the Berat Intelligence Service, explained that in November 2023 he was dismissed from his post and handed in his weapons, but he forgot to hand over the ammunition found in the apartment by the police services. He explained that the 7.62 caliber cartridges are cartridges from old weapons that he found in the old ShIK building and took as a souvenir and forgot in the apartment.

But from the verifications carried out by the prosecution it resulted that the weapons had been returned and this was also proven by the entrance ticket located in the institution. Meanwhile, from the verifications carried out it resulted that, two of the materials located on the USB with the name "USB drive" are classified at the "secret" level and are administered in SHISH in a single copy. Their copying or multiplication is prohibited and in violation of the acts that regulate the work of SHISH.

The receipt of these materials in violation of the rules on the security of classified information, which has resulted in their partial or complete exposure, in an unauthorized manner, constitutes a violation of the security of classified information.

At the end of the preliminary investigations, after a thorough analysis of the data and evidence obtained, we conclude that there is sufficient evidence that the defendants P.Sh. and A.Sh. have committed the criminal offenses for which they are accused. It is definitively proven that the defendant A. Sh. was an employee of the State Intelligence Service on duty and copied materials that, according to publicly known law, constitute a state secret, and were entrusted to him due to his duty.

The receipt of these materials in violation of the rules on the security of classified information, and their distribution on two USBs inside the defendant's apartment, when he was no longer performing his duties as an employee of the state intelligence service, which resulted in partial or complete exposure, in an unauthorized manner, constitutes a violation of the security of classified information.

Regarding the above, at the conclusion of the investigation, the Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, Berat requested and was accepted by the court:

1. The guilty plea of ??the defendant P. Sh., for committing the criminal offense of “Organizing or conducting gambling activities in violation of the law” provided for by Article 197/1 of the Criminal Code and his sentence to 2 (two) years of imprisonment;

2. Pursuant to Article 406, point 1, the sentence is reduced by 1/3, and the defendant is ultimately sentenced to 1 (one) year and 4 (four) months of imprisonment;

3. Pursuant to Article 59 of the Criminal Code, the execution of the decision to sentence to imprisonment shall be suspended, placing the defendant on probation for a period of 2 (two) years and 8 (eight) months, provided that within this period he does not commit another criminal offense and maintains regular contact with the Probation Service office of his place of residence;

4. The guilty plea of ??the defendant A. Sh. for committing the criminal offense of “Illegal possession and production of weapons, explosive weapons and ammunition” provided for by Article 278/3 of the Criminal Code and his sentence to 6 (six) months imprisonment;

5. The guilty plea of ??the defendant A. Sh. for committing the criminal offense of “Revelation of a state secret by a person entrusted to him” provided for by Article 294/1 of the Criminal Code and his sentence to 2 years of imprisonment;

6. Pursuant to Article 406, point 1, the sentence is reduced by 1/3, and the defendant is ultimately sentenced to 1 year and 4 months of imprisonment;

7. Pursuant to Article 59 of the Criminal Code, the suspension of the execution of the decision to sentence to imprisonment shall be ordered, placing the defendant A.Sh. on probation for a period of 2 years and 8 months, provided that within this period he does not commit another criminal offense; and

8. Pursuant to Article 35 of the Criminal Code, the defendant A.Sh. is deprived of the right to exercise public functions for a period of 5 years.