"I am Albanian and a real estate agent"/ Belgian media: Franc Çopja in court, facing justice for the murder of Spahiu

2026-01-09 14:35:00, Kronika CNA

"I am Albanian and a real estate agent"/ Belgian media: Franc

The President of the Brussels Serious Crimes Court, Isabelle De Saedeleer, has decided: neither a division of the case, nor a postponement of the process. The trial will proceed as planned.

There are nine people on trial for one of Belgium's first international drug-related murders, but only five of them are physically present in the dock, in the large "Justitia" courtroom in Brussels.

Endrit Sadedini is absent. “It is completely impossible for my client to be present in Brussels, as he has been detained in Albania since February 19,” lawyer Michel Bouchat told the court. He requested that his client’s file be separated from the others and examined later. Several other lawyers also requested a postponement of the trial, arguing that the presence of the accused is essential to guarantee the rights of the defense. After several hours of discussion, the president of the court announced that the request for separation was rejected, as was the request for a postponement of the trial. The trial will continue as planned.

Endrit Sadedini was sentenced on December 2 by a first instance court in Albania to three years and four months in prison for illegal possession of weapons. In Belgium, the Federal Prosecutor's Office suspects him as one of the three perpetrators of the murder of Ardit Spahiu, which has attracted great attention.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of November 27, 2020. Ardit Spahiu was leaving a bar on 'Avenue du Condor' in Molenbeek, when a car approached him. A person got out and opened fire several times. The victim was hit by nine bullets. Ardit Spahiu collapsed and died on the spot, in front of witnesses.

Franc Çopja, the defendant in the spotlight

In the courtroom, one defendant attracts all the attention: Franc Gergely, known as “Çopja”, in his thirties. In front of the jury, six women and six men, he declares his identity in a firm tone: “I am Albanian and a real estate agent”. A silence prevails in the courtroom. The name “Çopja” is known far beyond these walls. He belongs to a clan led by two brothers, who in 2020 alone imported more than 28 tons of cocaine to Europe from Latin America.

Today, Franc Çopja is being tried as the main mastermind behind the murder of Ardit Spahiu, while his accomplice, Mikael Qosja, is still at large. At the time of the events, both were living in Dubai, using multiple identities to manage their activities away from the attention of the authorities. Their clan had invested massively in real estate in Tirana and Elbasan, buying apartments, buildings, bars and restaurants, with the aim of laundering money and presenting themselves as indispensable investors for regional development.

Clan rivalries

Ardit Spahiu, also Albanian, had been living in isolation in Belgium since 2019, fearing for his life in his homeland, where several contract killings had taken place. He belonged to a rival clan to the Çopjat, the Alibej clan, also involved in drug trafficking. Investigations indicate that his murder is linked to violent rivalries between these Albanian clans involved in international drug trafficking – a secret war that, according to evidence, has been going on for years.

One of the events that escalated this rivalry was the theft, in London in 2017 or 2018, of a shipment of about 50 kilograms of cocaine, property of the Çopja clan, which allegedly ended up in the hands of the Alibej–Spahiu clan. Ardit Spahiu was the treasurer of his family clan and was personally investigating the murders of his relatives, which made him a prime target.

Digital evidence: Sky ECC

The Çopja clan quickly became the target of international authorities. For months, the investigation stalled. But in June 2021, a turning point occurred: analysis of data from the encrypted servers of the Sky ECC application made it possible to link the murder to several people. Franc Gergely was identified through three Sky codes.

On December 30, 2023, he was extradited from Dubai at the request of Belgian authorities to stand trial in Brussels, becoming the first person extradited from the United Arab Emirates to Belgium to face justice. Other extraditions have since followed between the two countries.

Described by Albanian investigators as "extremely ambitious", Franc Çopja has been in Haren prison since December 30, 2023. Although without a criminal record in Belgium, since September 3, 2024 there has been an international arrest warrant against him issued by Albanian authorities for murder and leading a criminal organization active in international drug trafficking.

After a first day of hearings, which was devoted solely to procedural hurdles, the trial will resume this Friday with the reading of the 200-page indictment./ Le Soir