Pressure on officials and envelopes with money/ The scheme of the journalist Elio Lazaj who fined

The State Police arrested two days ago, on February 12, at noon, Elio Lazaj, who claimed to be a journalist, once a mercenary at "Ora News", then taken over by a businessman connected to the underworld, politically excommunicated and used as a suicide bomber in defense of the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj. So, from being the latter's enemy, he turned into his servant.

There was talk that he received apartments, cars, and large sums of money, but then the journalist himself accused them of taking everything from him and leaving him with nothing.

Although at the time of the arrest, the police found them in several offices where it was alleged that three portals existed, one of which was the main one for extortion.

Elio Laze was arrested after two years of threatening, blackmailing and coercing a state official through communications, but also through his constant writings, simply and solely to satisfy the political appetites of a businessman with the initials AD, but also the political orders that came to attack certain opposition officials.

According to official sources provided by CNA, businessman AD, who is interested in witnesses and is known to have close ties to Chief Prosecutor Olsian Çela and other associates of Elio Lazaj, the fine-collector arrested by the police, is circulating materials heavily and is moving to contact the informants, but also demanding that the State Police take and replace the four phones that were seized from the fine-collector journalist.

Not only the contacts with third parties, witnesses or informants of Elio Lazaj, but also the moves made to change phones, have caught the eye of law enforcement agencies and the entire scheme is clearly visible, which was not simply and solely carried out by one hand like the fined journalist Elio Lazaj, but also involved other people, both directed from the Durrës prison, from the taverns of Tirana or people connected to drug trafficking, crime and exposed before SPAK for various criminal offenses.

The dismantling of journalist Elio Lazaj's four phones seems to have terrified not only the businessman and Lazaj's associates, but also other journalists who are collaborators of this individual and others, arrested persons currently in custody, who appear to have functioned as a structured criminal group.

The dismantling of Lazaj's four phones will also bring about the very rapid collapse of a group of individuals who function not simply and only as a gang of fine-dodgers alongside each other, but as a structure of corrupt mercenaries in the service of power, which, with the seizure of the phones of Elio Lazaj, who has refused to give his codes to judicial police officers, will completely dismantle the entire scheme.

Not only attacks on certain political figures, not only denigration, insults and false accusations against various media figures, but it will clearly reveal how anonymous portals will now be confirmed as to who manages them, who directs them.

With the entire scheme of the structured criminal group being created, it is expected that Elio Lazaj's file will be passed on to SPAK for in-depth investigations, to uncover the entire truth behind a criminal gang with individuals involved in extortion, blackmail, threats, denigration, fraud, insults, who have functioned as a mafia clan in the media for gang purposes, for the purposes of certain criminal groups, drug traffickers, persons arrested by SPAK or those under investigation, and mainly state officials according to large monthly payments.

These have now not only been unraveled, but are also expected to be legally confirmed to bring all responsible persons to the dock one by one./ CNA

Yesterday, at around 1:00 PM, the State Police in cooperation with the Tirana Prosecutor's Office organized the "Portal 1" operation, where they arrested citizen Elio Lazaj in flagrante delicto, who was caught taking a large sum of money from a state official, whom he had been attacking by slandering, accusing, threatening, and deceiving publicly for almost 2 years. (READ HERE)

According to investigations, it has been established that two years ago Lazaj asked the state official for around 40 thousand euros.

Then he removed some of the articles, started attacking him again later, and now he has entered into negotiations, demanding huge sums of money starting at 20 thousand euros to remove the articles and stop writing about him.

But it should be noted that on the other hand, there were political orders to write to the official, but the main goal was to denigrate citizen Belind Këlliçi.

The latter has also filed a report with the Tirana Police, where he has also emphasized the reason for these attacks, which are politically motivated by certain segments and structures linked to the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, and individuals from the underworld who manage anonymous online media, abusive, defamatory and denigrating portals.

According to data provided by CNA, the investigation continues by prosecutor Asllan Bajramaj and four more phones have been seized from Lazaj, which are expected to be disassembled to further reveal the details, as investigators suspect that we are dealing with a criminal group where not only Lazaj is involved, but also other individuals who financed and supported him.

An even broader scheme is being unraveled, as various writings, slanders, and insults are circulating on several online portals and it is suspected that they are directed by the same hand.

According to data provided by CNA, Tirana prosecutor Asllan Bajramaj was able to secure a court decision for citizen Elio Lazaj to be kept under surveillance for a long period.

Audio and video recordings were then made, which clearly show the moments when Lazaj threatens and coerces the state official to take the sums of money to remove the writings and not attack him further.

The indictment published by the State Police in yesterday's announcement states that citizen Elio Lazaj is charged under Article 109/b of the Criminal Code:

"Coercion by threat and violence to give up property", in the first paragraph, which states that: "Coercion by threat and violence to perform or not perform a certain action in order to unjustly obtain property or any other type of benefit, for oneself or for a third party, is punishable by imprisonment from two to eight years of deprivation of liberty".

According to the Criminal Code, Article 109/b, which you can see in the photo above, Elio Lazaj risks a minimum of two to eight years in prison in the criminal situation he is currently in.

CNA has also provided other data related to the suspended sentence of citizen Lazaj for illegal possession of weapons and drugs.

Also, several other convictions and trials that occurred in the Criminal Court of Tirana, such as the insult made repeatedly, in the same form, using his portals, his social networks to intimidate, threaten, curse, insult and damage not only the image, but with a specific purpose of denigrating various characters according to the orders he received.

Therefore, looking at this data, a legal expert told CNA that Lazaj risks more than two years in prison at least, since prosecutor Asllan Bajramaj in the situation the defendant is in would never ask for the minimum, in any case even if he were an accomplice or repentant, because he has been convicted before, is a repeat offender in various criminal offenses and this time was caught red-handed.

At a minimum, prosecutor Asllan Bajramaj would request at least five to six years of imprisonment for citizen Lazaj. The court will then make the decision based on the facts, circumstances, and evidence provided by the prosecution.

According to the Criminal Code, Lazaj would be sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison, but since he is on probation and has committed other very serious and repeat criminal offenses, Lazaj risks possibly double this sentence.

We are talking about the part of the investigation up to these moments, without going further into the analysis of the phones seized by the police that have worried quite a few individuals in the political circles of the capital, who are suspected of being linked to Elio Lazaj in the function of a structured criminal group in the media to blackmail, threaten, denigrate, and impose fines on various individuals, but also focusing on politics and attacking opponents, mainly those in the opposition, but also figures in power who have refused to provide services to these individuals.

But this is expected to be clarified by unlocking the phones and revealing the full orders that Elio Lazaj received from third parties./ CNA

CNA exclusively reported the arrest of journalist Elio Laze, who was detained in Tirana as part of the 'Portali 1' operation, after he was caught red-handed taking money to delete articles and blackmailing an official.

Sources for CNA indicate that four phones have been seized from the fined pseudo-journalist Elio Laze, which will be examined.

The same sources told CNA that Laze has refused to provide the codes to unlock their mobile phones and experts are expected to unlock the phones and analyze the full communications to see other cases of extortion, but also of collaboration with other people who may have been involved in this criminal scheme, which includes fines, blackmail, threats, political orders for attacks, removal of articles, materials ordered for a fee, etc.

It is suspected that by dismantling the phones, a large criminal group could be revealed in the media, not only Elio Laze, but also other people, who have been under full surveillance by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office and the Police. Investigations are expected to reveal the truth.

We recall that CNA exclusively reported today the news of the arrest of the fine-charging pseudo-journalist Elio Laze, after he had fined a state official.

Elio Laze continued to use his schemes of swearing, threats, blackmail and insults through a portal and after many investigations conducted by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office, the police have today put him in handcuffs by court decision.

CNA learned that the journalist who issued the fine had demanded large sums of money from the official and was caught red-handed by blue uniforms as the official was handing him the money. / CNA

CNA has learned exclusively today that the journalist who fined the fine, Elio Laze, has been arrested.

According to information provided by CNA, the journalist was arrested after he fined an official.

So who is the journalist who fined money, Elio Laze?

Elio Laze is one of the tools of a businessman much talked about for his connections with Erion Veliaj.

A former journalist at "Ora News" who attacked the mayor of Tirana, then "swallowed a spoonful of spoiled soup", which he apparently vomited today when he was arrested by the State Police.

Arrested journalist, Elio Laze

Laze was bought by Veliaj, however, it did not serve him either, as this is not the first time Laze has been arrested.

The pseudo-journalist who bought Veliaj was caught with drugs and weapons in 2022. Instead of serving Veliaj, the latter had to bail him out of prison.

Then, with strong political intervention, he was taken to the hospital and never served a single day in prison.

However, these are not the only criminal offenses committed by pseudo-journalist Elio Laze, which CNA has previously reported.

In 2023, Laze was convicted by the court of slander, lies, and insults.

The suicide bomber Laze has made numerous attacks on CNA, its staff and the editor, but as always, we followed a path, the legal path. Laze received the response he deserved, with a court decision he was declared a slanderer, a fraud and an insulter.

There are dozens of reports against Laze. Most recently, he was also reported by CNA and journalist Elvi Fundo.

There are reports against Laze from dozens of businesses and individuals. It is learned that another report was also filed by Democratic Party MP Belind Këlliçi, for defamation and insults made through his online portals.

Portals behind which he hid to impose fines on officials./CNA

Journalist Elio Laze has been arrested at the office of his portal where he was working, caught red-handed receiving money. 

Elio Laze continued his scheme of insults, threats, blackmail and insults through a portal and after many investigations conducted by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office, the police have today put him in handcuffs by court decision.

CNA has learned that journalist Elio Laze has been arrested by the State Police after months of attacking his portal and imposing a fine on a state official.

For two years, journalist Elio Laze had been blackmailing an official by slandering, writing and threatening him, allegedly in connection with a call center and then making other accusations against opposition officials. 

It is learned that Laze initially demanded 40,000 euros and then another smaller amount, around 10,000 euros, but the moment the official went to give him the money, blue uniformed officers from the Criminal Police and Economic Crime appeared and handcuffed the fined journalist.

Elio Laze is not an unknown character. He has been in the focus of social networks or online media for years. He previously worked as a journalist at 'Ora News' and was then sold to Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, who through a businessman was able to take control of Elio Laze.

Laze had long been working with his own portal, where, as has already been confirmed, he imposed fines in an unstoppable manner by exploiting his space on the portal with hateful, insulting, threatening, blackmailing, cursing, intimidating, and even threatening language.

CNA also previously reported that Elio Laze was arrested several years ago with weapons and drugs, but did not serve a single day in prison after being rescued by a prosecutor who was dismissed from vetting with strong intervention. It is suspected that it is the same businessman who "bought" Laze from 'Ora News' in a bargain with Erion Veliaj, who intervened to take Elio Laze to the prison hospital at the time of his arrest with weapons and drugs. Laze was later sentenced to probation.

CNA has also reported that Elio Laze has been convicted several times by the Tirana Court for various acts of insult and defamation committed in online media. He was convicted in a trial against journalist Elvi Fundo and there is already another open court process, which apparently with his arrest for fines, will also reveal the true face of this fine-giver, who is not the only one in the dirty online media market in Albania./CNA