TIRANA, Feb. 2, 2015 – Authorities are investigating how an Albanian military helicopter pilot was recruited into drug trafficking, after he died last week when the rented helicopter he was flying while on leave crashed in Spain, as it was trying to smuggle a large load of marijuana from Marocco.
Major Sokol Feka and another man died when the helicopter hit a power pylon while being chased by Spanish authorities in southern Spain, near the mountain town of Cortes de la Frontera in Malaga province.
Feka was one of Albania’s most experienced helicopters pilots and worked as an instructor at Albania’s Farka Air Base. He had taken leave from January 12th to January 31st, but had not sought permission to leave the country, as required by regulations for active members of the military.
Friends and relatives interviewed by Albanian media described Feka as having money problems, having a hard time to support his children from a failed first marriage as well as pay for his second family.
He had also tried to open a side business to his military career, a car wash, which had also failed.
Feka’s take-home salary from his military job was about €325, an average wage in Albania, local media reported. Albania has been a NATO member country since 2009, but military salaries are a fraction of their counterparts in allied countries. Most military wages in Albania’s small professional army are also lower than other state employees.
The helicopter was carrying between 800 and 900 kilos of hashish and was painted in black to avoid being detected at night. Police are investigating where the hashish came from, but in recent years they have broken up several rings that used helicopters to smuggle hashish from Morocco into southern Spain.
Prime Minister Edi Rama broke the news to a shocked parliament, sparking a debate with the opposition Democratic Party, which asked for the resignation of Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli.
The army chief of staff issued a statement saying that the involvement of a military pilot in a criminal offense does not reflect on the conduct of the entire armed forces, calling on politicians to support the military.
It is not the first time politicians accuse members of the military of involvement in drug trafficking. Last year, the political opposition said the government had failed to protect an abandoned military base from being used a based for drug traffickers. The accusations were not proven, and the military denied them.
