The prestigious Italian newspaper La Repubblica has released further details on the assassination attempt on journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, reporting on a new line of investigation. In the article published today, the Italian media reports that the Carabinieri are examining Albanian drug lord Artur Shehu as a suspect.
According to sources from the Anti-Mafia Directorate, quoted by La Repubblica, information has been received from Vlora about Shehu's possible involvement in the explosion that occurred on October 16 near the apartment of the moderator of the 'Report' show.
Meanwhile, the article also links to an episode of the show 'Report' dated April 21, 2024, entitled "(Hot) Spot Albanese", which deals with the project of immigrant centers that Italy has set up in Albania. In this episode, the name of Artur Shehu is mentioned several times and is linked to a network of relationships and businesses that also include Albanian political and institutional circles.
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There is an Albanian lead in the investigation into the assassination of journalist Sigfrido Ranucci. The name on which investigators are now focusing is that of Artur Shehu, 58 years old, a businessman of Albanian origin, considered by some investigations to be a significant figure in his country's organized crime. He currently lives in the United States, in Florida, where he leads a reserved life in Miami, where he has been settled for several years.
According to investigative sources, the Anti-Mafia Directorate has also received information from Vlora, in southern Albania, about Shehu's possible involvement in the explosion that occurred on October 16, under the apartment of the moderator of the 'Report' show.
This is, at the moment, a hypothesis that still requires verification and final evidence, but which is nevertheless being carefully followed by prosecutors from the Rome Regional Anti-Mafia Directorate — deputy prosecutor Ilaria Calò and prosecutor Carlo Villani — who, together with the carabinieri of the Investigation Unit, have been trying for days to reconstruct every detail of the assassination.
The possibility of the motive is related to an episode of the show 'Report' dated April 21, 2024, with a service titled "(Hot) Spot Albanese", on the project of centers for immigrants that Italy has set up in Albania, in Shëngjin and Gjadra, within the framework of the agreement signed between the governments of Rome and Tirana. In that service, the name of Shehu is mentioned several times and placed in a context of relationships and businesses that affect Albanian political and institutional circles.
In Raitre's program, the 58-year-old Albanian is described as a major drug trafficker, previously mentioned in international investigations for alleged links to Cosa Nostra and Sacra Corona Unita. According to the journalistic investigation, Shehu donated 30,000 square meters of land near Vlora to the foundation of General Fabrizio Lisi, who was the head of Interpol in Albania at the time.
The operation, always according to Report, would be mediated by lawyer Engjëll Agaçi, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers of Albania and close associate of Prime Minister Edi Rama, a figure considered key in determining the bilateral agreement with Italy on immigrants.
Shehu's name was not unknown to the international press either. In March 2021, the American newspaper 'Miami Herald' devoted an extensive investigation to him with the headline: "From a villa in Miami Beach, a man with alleged mafia ties builds a business empire in Albania."
The article gave a detailed portrait of his life in the US, describing a villa on Alton Road, “just steps from Biscayne Bay,” surrounded by royal palms, with a well-maintained garden and two luxury cars parked in the driveway.
Today, the prosecution is also verifying this international profile, looking for a match between the information collected in Albania and the 58-year-old's movements. However, the leads for the perpetrators of the assassination remain numerous, given the large number of investigations that 'Report' has conducted over the years — often entering sensitive territory and touching on important economic and criminal interests.
However, at this stage, the investigators' attention seems to be focused mainly on several sectors of the Albanian mafia, while the carabinieri are continuing verifications to identify the person who planted the explosive and the one who, according to the latest developments, had attempted to enter the journalist's second home last summer, but without success.
