Another “Santa Gang” member arrested

The Kurbin Police arrested Edmond Selala, who was running from the police as a suspect for a series of armed robberies. 

The Kurbin Police arrested Edmond Selala, who was running from the police as a suspect for a series of armed robberies.

Selala is suspected of being part of a gang of eight members, known as Santa Clauses, who last year robbed a jewelry store in a Tirana mall. The police say they have evidence connecting this gang with a series of other robberies in Albania, Macedonia and Greece.

Police suspects the gang was led by Ilir Kupa, sentenced to five years in prison. He will be tried for these other charges from prison. His collaborators, all young and with a long criminal history, were not a surprise for the Police or the Prosecution.

They were being surveilled by the police based on a series of unclear cases, the most serious of which are the robberies of five jewelry stores in various Albanian cities and even in Macedonia.

While the group made of eight members was now being called “Santa Clauses” after the 200.000 EUR robbery in Tirana, they kept robbing other stores with other types of masks.

Sources say that Agustin Sula, caught in Tirana, has confessed of being one of the masked robbers, but the confession has come late since there is enough evidence against him.

One of the group members was killed during a fire exchange for 18 kilograms of gold in Diber e Madhe. Police also arrested Julian Qerushi, also sentenced for robbery.