The government’s special plane brought a wanted Kosovar Albanian drug lord Baki Sadiki to Slovakia on board of a on Friday, December 28, afternoon, the TASR newswire reported.
The extradition was welcomed by the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry which appreciated the co-operation with EU’s mission in Kosovo EULEX and other partners, including the local police.
“Justice has been the decisive priority for all parties involved, despite legal and political challenges related to the extradition,” said the ministry, as quoted by TASR.
Sadiki, one of three men accused in a particularly serious case of illegal production, possession and trading in narcotics and, more specifically, smuggling heroin from Turkey to Slovakia hidden in imported beach sandals, was sentenced in absentia to 22 years’ imprisonment by the Prešov District Court on June 13, 2011.
After several years at large, he was arrested as part of an international Interpol police operation called Infrared on October 25.
He was put into extradition custody and is now waiting to be sent back to Slovakia. Shortly after Sadiki’s detention Lajčák said that nothing stood in the way of his extradition back to Slovakia.
The Kosovar court in Gnjilane ruled that the country can extradite Sadiki in the beginning of December.
Chair of the non-parliamentary Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko said on December 27 that the extradition may cause problems with the European Court for Human Rights, as Slovakia is one of the five EU-member countries that do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, TASR wrote.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
