Moisi Habilaj has come out of the Catania prison in Italy after the Appeals Court changed his security measure to house arrest, as he awaits a ruling.
Habilaj will be staying in the San Michele di Ganzaria area in Italy.
He was arrested in 2017 as the head of a drug trafficking band that operated in Albania and Italy.
In 2019, Moisi Habilaj was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Catania court as the head of the Habilaj criminal group for international drug and arms trafficking.
Habilaj is also known as the cousin of former Albanian Minister of Interior Saimir Tahiri, who is currently being prosecuted in Albania under charges of aiding and abetting the Habilaj gang.
On September 20, 2019, Tahiri was found guilty of abusing his duty by the Serious Crimes Court, whereas the charges of drug trafficking and collaborating with the Habilaj gang were dismissed. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, a sentence shortened to 3 years and 4 months of community service and probation.
The court’s ruling was appealed both by the prosecution, who had asked for 12 years in prison, as well as by Tahiri, who held that he was innocent.
The Appeals Court has yet to come to a conclusion.
