On May 5, 2026, the US Marshals Service (USMS) located and arrested Sokol Hoxha on immigration law violations.
Sokol Hoxha, an Albanian national, is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice issued at the request of Belgium, in connection with a conviction for voluntary manslaughter (in absentia) for the murder of his 19-year-old wife in August 1997 in Brussels. He is also the subject of an INTERPOL Notice issued by Albania for a conviction (in absentia) for the murder of two brothers in March 1997 in Patos. Hoxha has been on the run since the commission of these crimes.
According to investigations, he is suspected of killing his wife in Belgium after she refused his demands to engage in prostitution. In the same year, 1997, he was sentenced in absentia in Albania to 25 years in prison for the murder of two brothers in Patos.
Authorities say that after these events, Hoxha fled Europe and used a false identity. He is suspected of initially traveling to the United Kingdom, where he claimed to be a Kosovar refugee and sought asylum, later obtaining British citizenship under this false identity. Then, in 2012, he entered the United States, continuing to use the false identity, and managed to obtain legal permanent resident status.
The six-year investigation led by INTERPOL Washington, in cooperation with local and international agencies, including INTERPOL Tirana, INTERPOL Brussels, the Belgian Federal Police, the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency, and Albanian authorities, led to his location and arrest in Ohio.
Authorities emphasize that this case underscores the importance of international cooperation in tracking down wanted individuals and preventing the use of false identities to evade justice.
