A fugitive Albanian alleged drug smuggler who escaped while attending his brother’s funeral in Melbourne has been recaptured in Queensland.
Orijol Rukaj, 47, was arrested in Bamaga, near Cape York, on Friday by Queensland Police and detectives from the Victoria Police Fugitive Squad and Major Drug Squad.
Rukaj, who was in Marngoneet Correction Centre on serious drug charges including possessing a commercial quantity of cocaine, was given special permission to attend the memorial service in at Keilor East cemetery on April 25.
But despite being handcuffed and under supervision by corrections officers Rukaj, who has Albanese organised crime connections, managed to flee the service undetected, sparking a major manhunt.
Witnesses said Rukaj helped carry his brother’s coffin out of the cemetery, managed to make his way through the crowd of 300 mourners, and may have been driven away in a black Toyota LandCruiser.
Police raided 20 properties connected to Rukaj’s family members and associates in Melbourne in June, but there were no reported sightings of the fugitive until Friday.
Rukaj is now custody in Queensland and Victoria Police Fugitive Squad detectives will seek extradition after interviewing him over the coming days.
Header image: Left, right, Orijol Rukaj (Victoria Police).
