Albania Arrested a Wanted Man from the Incinerator Case. That Same Evening, the Street Demanded Rama's Arrest

Police in Vlore detained Renard Nallbani on Saturday evening, accused in the Tirana waste incinerator case, whom Balkanweb reported had been sought for approximately two years. He was arrested in the Palasë area on the Albanian Riviera, that is, on the same coastline whose development is one of the reasons for the protests. Those same evening passed through Tirana for the seventieth day in a row, and at them chants of "arrest Rama" and "arrest Balluku" rang out — that is, names from the government, not businessmen. Balkanweb ↗

A Man Sought for Two Years Was Found on the Riviera

The operation was led by police in Vlore and they located Nallbani in the Palasë area. Renard Nallbani is accused, according to Balkanweb, of money laundering from criminal activity committed in particular cooperation within a structured criminal group, of membership in such a group, and of committing criminal offenses within a criminal organization. The competent authorities will take over the matter. An accusation is not a sentence. Balkanweb ↗

The place of detention has its own symbolism. Palasë is the northern gateway of the Albanian Riviera below the Llogara Pass — a stretch of coast that belongs to the most visibly changing parts of the riviera, among other things thanks to the two-hundred-hectare Green Coast resort. It is precisely the sale and development of the coastline that is one of the motives that drove the protesters into the streets. At Saturday's march, chants of "the homeland is not for sale" also rang out. That a wanted businessman from a corruption case was found precisely there is a coincidence — but a coincidence that Albanian media noticed. Balkanweb ↗

Three Incinerators, Three Branches, and One Convicted Minister

The incinerators in Elbasan, Fier, and Tirana belong to Albania's longest-running corruption cases, and each has its own branch of proceedings. The Supreme Audit Office estimated that taxpayers could be billed over 350 million euros over thirty years. The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution SPAK sent the Tirana branch to court with charges against fourteen individuals and two companies. According to prosecutors, approximately 1.28 billion leks and 16.7 million euros were transferred through fictitious invoices, shell companies at home and abroad, and cash transfers. As actual owners of the company Integrated Energy BV SPV, the prosecution designates Mirel Mërtirim and Klodian Zoto. Albanian Daily News ↗

That Albanian justice can convict even a minister is demonstrated by the Elbasan branch: former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka was convicted to ten years there, after abbreviated proceedings to six years and eight months, and the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence in May of this year when it rejected the appeals of the convicted. Sot ↗ In the Fier branch, it turned out differently — there the appellate court on December 19, 2024 quashed the verdicts and returned the case for retrial. Top Channel ↗

In the Tirana branch, where the largest sums of money are at stake, however, mid-level officials and businessmen are sitting in the dock. Opposition leader Sali Berisha aimed precisely at this when on July 6 in front of the SPAK building he said: "The Tirana incinerator, 130 million euros have disappeared, the money of Albanian citizens, taxpayers." He added that only two officials are accused — that is, that no one from the top of politics has yet been held accountable for this branch. Albeu ↗

Day Seventy: "Tomorrow, Even More"

Saturday's protest was, according to Balkanweb, the seventieth in a row. After speeches in front of the government office, the demonstrators took to the boulevard and other streets in the center. Their demand for Rama's resignation remains, according to them, non-negotiable, and the march ended with the slogan "tomorrow, even more". Balkanweb ↗

The name that stood right next to the Prime Minister's in the chanting belongs to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy. Belinda Balluku faces accusations of manipulation of public tenders in the Unaza e Madhe and Llogara tunnel projects. SPAK suspended her from office in November 2025, Edi Rama challenged the decision, and the Constitutional Court returned her to office in December. It is precisely the refusal to replace her that is among the things that started the protests. OBC Transeuropa ↗

The movement has meanwhile held even outside the capital. In Divjaka, residents are protesting the merger of the municipality with Lushnja and are burning the membership cards of the ruling Socialist Party with the message "do not touch our identity". Balkanweb ↗

Read also: How Le Monde Sees the Albanian "Firefly Revolution": After 65 Days of Protests, Rama Still Refuses to Step Down

While Police Searched the Coast, Kruja Burned

That same night, twenty kilometers north of Tirana, a completely different story about the state's capabilities was unfolding. According to Gazeta Shqiptare, thousands of people were leaving the city quarters of Kruja as advancing fires spread, the city lost electricity, and in the Barabit neighborhood at least two houses burned according to eyewitness accounts from the field. "The situation is very bad. The state took no measures. This neighborhood could have over a hundred houses, not counting the apartment blocks," said one of the residents. Gazeta Shqiptare ↗

Authorities ordered immediate evacuation in the Barabit–Luban zone, from which Balkanweb also reported explosions of ammunition. Priority was given to children, elderly people, people with disabilities, and families in isolated areas. Some residents refused to leave and had to be escorted out. The operation was coordinated by the National Civil Protection Agency with the prefecture of Durrës County, the city of Kruja, police, the military, and firefighters, and the city hall promised temporary accommodation and medical assistance. Balkanweb ↗

"The city is burning!" went a resident's call to the Balkanweb newsroom. According to the same source, the worst hit was the Abaze neighborhood, where out of approximately three hundred houses, about thirty were endangered. Elsewhere, police arrested a 73-year-old man who had set fire to grass near his house, and the flames spread to the slope above Kruja. Balkanweb ↗ Balkanweb ↗

The Limits of This Perspective

The detention and the protest are not directly related. The search for Nallbani has been ongoing, according to Albanian media, for approximately two years, and nothing suggests that its timing was connected to the street. Moreover, an accusation is not a sentence, and the presumption of innocence applies. It is equally true that what we are connecting here was also connected by Albanian newsrooms — the authorities themselves do not cite such a connection.

The number of protest days should be taken with reservation. The count of days varies slightly in Albanian media depending on whether it is counted from the first gathering in Zvërneci or from the beginning of daily protests in Tirana. An independent estimate of attendance is not available. The statement that "the state took no measures" is the voice of one Barabit resident — the authorities were already coordinating evacuation at that time. We were unable to obtain a statement from the Albanian government on either event before deadline.

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