Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously approves Ervin Mata’s extradition

Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court has unanimously approved Albania’s request for the extradition of Ervin Mata. The decision was taken by the court’s first panel in a virtual session held from August 14 to 21, 2026.

In the 23-page ruling, the Brazilian court states that the documentation submitted by the Albanian authorities meets the legal requirements for extradition.

The request relates to criminal proceedings in Albania on charges including drug trafficking, participation in a special form of collaboration and membership in a structured criminal group.

The file also includes data obtained from communications on the encrypted Sky ECC app. According to the material presented to the Brazilian court, in September 2020, the user with identifier GS4TDD, identified as Ervin Luan Mata, was suspected of communicating about the transport of about 250 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil to Frankfurt airport in Germany.

In a communication of September 29, 2020, the file mentions that Mata spoke about the seizure of 240 units of the goods in Frankfurt.

In another conversation, he says “all my goods were seized in Frankfurt, at customs,” while the sending of money through other people is also mentioned.

The Brazilian document also includes communications linked to Albania and the Netherlands. In one of them, Mata says: “Only in Albania do I want money,” while in another he mentions the sum of one million in the Netherlands.

The file also includes communications with Eralbi Breçani. In an October 2020 conversation, Mata speaks about “loads” and about the possibility of securing “safe exits” for the goods.

But Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court sets an important limitation: it has not judged whether Ervin Mata is guilty or not of the acts attributed to him. The court explains that, in extradition proceedings, its review is limited and does not include a retrial of the facts, authorship or evidence of the criminal case.

According to the ruling, only a preliminary legal assessment is made to determine whether the conditions for extradition are met. The court finds the principle of double criminality exists, that the offenses are not time-barred and that there is no legal obstacle to extradition.

The extradition was approved as an investigative procedure — that is, for Mata to face criminal proceedings in Albania and not for the execution of a final sentence.

However, Ervin Mata is not automatically handed over to the Albanian authorities. The ruling states that the handover depends on the discretionary decision of the President of Brazil.

In addition, Albania must formalize the guarantees required by Brazilian law, among others that Mata not be prosecuted for a prior act other than the one for which extradition was requested, that his time in detention in Brazil be counted, and that he not be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The decision of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court is unanimous and dated August 24, 2026. The rapporteur of the case is judge Alexandre de Moraes.

So the Brazilian court has cleared the way for Ervin Mata’s extradition to Albania, but his physical handover remains conditional on the procedures set out in the ruling.