On 3 July 2026, customs and state police at Rinas airport seized about 46 kilograms of suspected cannabis sativa from two suitcases on a flight from Toronto.[1] The State Police called the case Operation Suitcases and said the cannabis had come from Canada in 89 sealed gelatin packages, which police valued at about 250,000 euros.[2]

Officers arrested 34-year-old Kristian Gjoni in flagrante.[3] Police criminally prosecuted two women while they remained at large, identified only as A. Gj., 31, and L. Sh., 40.[2] The procedural file was sent to the prosecutor.[2] Customs said the suitcases were found when baggage on the Toronto to Rinas flight was scanned, then searched in the presence of the luggage owners.[4]

Gjoni, a Toronto businessman on an Air Transat flight with his wife, told CTV News that the bag officers ordered him to collect was not his and held 23.15 kilograms of cannabis.[5] CTV’s W5 reported that hospital records in Canada and Albania confirmed she was pregnant and had miscarried.[6] His pregnant wife was also taken into police custody.[6] He said Albanian police held him for four days in solitary confinement, then released him on bail.[5] He had to report to police in Tirana, first monthly and later every four months.[6] CTV News reported that another Canadian passenger on the same flight was detained because her tag was on a second suitcase with 23 kilograms of cannabis, and that she was released without charges.[5][6] Albanian police told CTV News the cannabis was worth almost C$400,000.[5][6] His trial is expected to begin in early 2027, and he faces up to 15 years in prison.[5][6] In an October email, the RCMP wrote that it believed he was the victim of a bag-tag switch and that the couple had checked in only the four bags they later collected.[5]