The officer who brought drugs into the Pristina Detention Center is sentenced to prison and a fine

The Basic Court in Pristina, on Monday, sentenced the correctional officer at the Pristina Detention Center, Ragip Zeneli, to one year and eight months in prison, who had previously pleaded guilty.

Zeneli was sentenced to one year of effective imprisonment for each offense and a fine of 1 euros for the criminal offenses of abuse of office and distribution of narcotics, while the court imposed a single sentence of 1 year and eight months.

Blerim Sinani, accused of possession of narcotics, was also found guilty and, after pleading guilty, was sentenced to seven months in prison and a 500 euro fine.

Zeneli was accused of having introduced narcotic substances into the Pristina Detention Center in December 2020 and handed them over to the accused Sinani, who is serving his sentence in this center, reports "Oath for Justice".

The verdict in question was announced by the presiding judge, Judge Fatime Dermaku, who announced that the defendant Zeneli's detention will also be suspended until the verdict becomes final.

Otherwise, before the announcement of this verdict, prosecutor Arian Gashi improved two technical issues regarding the indictment.

"The first issue concerns the criminal offense of unauthorized distribution and sale of psychotropic and analogous substances from Article 267, paragraph 2 in connection with Article 275, paragraph 1, where only point 1.8 is included, because point 1.2 is considered a special offense, respectively the criminal offense of abuse of official position... The second issue is that since we have two defendants with two different criminal offenses and one provision, then I will divide the provision, so that, for the defendant Blerim Sinani, I will add the third point of the provision," said Prosecutor Gashi.

According to the indictment compiled on December 23, 2020, the accused Ragip Zeneli, in his capacity as a correctional officer at the Pristina Detention Center, unlawfully and with the aim of unlawfully benefiting himself or someone else, failed to fulfill his official duties.

The indictment states that on December 3, 2020, Zeneli had introduced a narcotic substance of the type marijuana into the Correctional Center in Pristina, with the aim of mediating and handing over the accused Blerim Sinani, who was serving his sentence in this center.

According to the prosecution, during lunchtime at this center, Zeneli approached Sinani, who was distributing food, and gave him a quantity of narcotics, but when they noticed that security was coming, the accused Sinani threw the narcotics into the trash can, which was found and seized by the center's security.

After the police examination, it turned out that the narcotic was marijuana weighing 3.59 grams, while on the same day, during a raid on the accused Sinani's house in Gracanica, the police found a small amount of marijuana weighing 0.18 grams.

For these actions, Zeneli is being charged with the criminal offenses of "abuse of official position or authority", and "unauthorized purchase, possession, distribution and sale of psychotropic and analogous substances", while the accused Sinani is being charged with the criminal offense of "unauthorized possession of narcotics, psychotropic or analogous substances".