After Ermal Beqiri was arrested in France while flying on a private plane, a feverish movement has begun among the former leaders of AKSHI, who have so far escaped prison in Albania. The incident with the plane risks becoming the spark that could burn the entire group that once controlled AKSHI.
The first person who seems to have felt the consequences of Beqiri's arrest is his closest associate, Ergys Agasi, the man who for years was considered the guarantee of the government's unconditional support for dirty work.
It has been repeatedly said about Ergys Agas that he has not left Albania and that he is hiding not far from Tirana.
But now that he has learned of Ermal Beqiri's arrest in France, sources indicate that he has lost his composure, as he must move and find another place to take refuge. The guarantee of the people who have kept him hidden until now has ended.
The reason is precisely the false step that Ermal Beqiri took in France. After extradition, no one can predict how far the investigations will extend, so even the people who sheltered Agas have given him time to find another base. Their intuition does not seem completely unfounded.
At the time of his arrest, in addition to the AirTag devices he was carrying, the French police found two electronic devices on Ermal Beqiri that contained his most recent communications. From the moment he left Albania, the months of his escape, his life in France, to conversations with his closest people, all messages exchanged with contacts in Albania are now in the hands of the French authorities.
Such a sea was also reported by the French media outlet Journal du Dimanche, which was the first to publish the news of Ermal Beqiri's arrest. According to French journalists, Beqiri explained to authorities that he had flown at low altitude over the nuclear power plant because he was talking on the phone with his mother and the conversation had distracted him.
It remains to be seen whether French authorities will themselves decode the communications found on these electronic devices, or whether they will be handed over to Albanian authorities at the time of extradition.
Sources indicate that Ergys Agasi has persistently requested to contact, even for a few minutes, his man in the government, even the prime minister, in an attempt to secure guarantees that he can maintain his current residence.
If Ermal Beqiri's communications are revealed by the Albanian authorities, the AKSHI file could enter a new phase of investigation, with consequences for the people who are suspected of having helped him during his escape.
Since December 2025, when he was declared wanted, it has been said that Ergys Agasi has been hiding in Albania, exploiting connections with criminal groups, as a reward for favors from the time when he was part of Edi Rama's inner circle and exerted influence over key segments of the state. But even these favors have a deadline.
His friends in Durrës, Tirana or Elbasan seem to have realized that the adventurer who once boasted of his friendship with Edi Rama and traveled with the prime minister's escort has today become a burden. Beqiri's arrest increases the risk for anyone who continues to shelter him.
So far, it has been reported, without being officially confirmed, that Agasi has been hiding sometimes in a resort on the outskirts of Tirana, sometimes in the outskirts of Durrës near his friends the Troplini, and sometimes at Suel Çela's base in Elbasan.
When the AKSHI file was released, the prosecution's data matched almost completely the description that Arben Ahmetaj had given Ergys Agas years ago, when he called him Edi Rama's "crime coordinator." The wiretaps revealed the scheme set up to loot hundreds of millions of euros through rigged tenders, the corruption of AKSHI officials, as well as the involvement of criminal groups to exert pressure on competing businessmen.
According to Ahmetaj, the relationship between Ergys Agas and Edi Rama was extremely close. He stated that he saw Agas himself in the prime minister's office drinking wine worth 33 thousand euros./Lapsi.al
