A total of 18 members of the Belanoca – Baron Albanian mafia group were arrested in the massive raid in Skopje on Sunday, said Interior Minister Pance Toskovski. The group is suspected of the mafia style attack in the Shisha Bar in Skopje in 2023 where they killed two notorious bosses – Jeton Krivanjeva and Enes Iseni.

After raids at 30 locations, against 24 persons, we recovered firearms, about 30 million denars in cash, we seized five vehicles, jewelry, nine cell phones, five sim cards.. The raids are on-going. 18 persons are charged with various crimes, including murder and attempted murder, including the attack at the Shisha Bar, which caused great disturbance in the Macedonian public. The charges include extortion, causing broad danger and entering a criminal enterprise, Toskovski said, adding that during one of the raids, a police officer was seen leaving the site 10 minutes before the raid.

At least seven murders were carrid out by the group, and members were paid between 10,000 and 250,000 per hit. According to the Interior Minister, the group divided tasks between its members, including extortion through offering “security services”, mostly of sports betting places. Members of the group set fire to five betting places and one fast food place, as well as vehicles of prison guards.