Police officer killed in line of duty in Maliq, colleague injured
2026-06-04 10:32:16
TiranaPost
A police officer has lost his life and another was injured during a police operation in the Lozhani area, on Mount Boden, Maliq Municipality, after an exchange of fire with a wanted person.
The State Police has issued an official statement stating that within the framework of the implementation of the plan of measures for the capture of high-risk persons, the Services of the Korça Local Police Directorate, in cooperation with the Maliq Police Station and the Korça Police Station, had provided data on the location of a wanted citizen and organized an intervention in the area where he was suspected of hiding.
At around 07:30, police forces surrounded a hut in the mountainous area of Lozhani, where the wanted person, citizen Violand Braçellari, 43, was suspected to be. The latter was sentenced in 2017 to 9 years, 11 months and 7 days in prison for the criminal offense of "Production and sale of narcotics", and in 2011 the security measure "Arrest in prison" was imposed on him for "Cultivation of narcotic plants".
During the intervention, the police called on him to surrender, but he did not obey the orders and opened fire on the officers. As a result of the attack, Inspector EM, 34 years old, lost his life in the line of duty, while Inspector EA, 36 years old, both part of the Special Force "Eagle" of the Korça DVP, was injured.
Police forces responded with fire, neutralizing the perpetrator, who was also injured and arrested at the scene.
A medical helicopter was also dispatched to the scene to transport the injured.
The investigative group, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office and in cooperation with the Police Supervision Agency, is continuing its work on the full legal documentation of the serious incident, where one officer lost his life in the line of duty and another was injured.
