DOWNTOWN — Afrim Kupa pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday for attempting to bribe a juror to vote not guilty in a criminal trial in the Eastern District of New York. 

Kupa is the last of three defendants to plead guilty to this crime, following the guilty pleas of Mustafa Fteja on Feb. 19, 2026, and Valmir Krasniqi on March 4, 2026. 

In mid-November 2025, the defendants offered to pay a juror serving on the criminal trial of United States v. Goran Gogic up to $100,000 in exchange for the juror’s not guilty vote.  When sentenced, Kupa, Krasniqi and Fteja each face up to 20 years imprisonment.

The Gogic Trial

Goran Gogic’s trial was set to commence before the United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack on Nov. 17, 2025.

Gogic is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and three counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. 

Between May 2018 and July 2019, Gogic allegedly conspired with others to distribute massive quantities of cocaine via commercial cargo ships.  He coordinated with cocaine producers in Colombia and crewmembers to transport tons of cocaine on commercial cargo ships on the high seas, and a network of port workers to transport and offload the cocaine in Europe via the United States.

United States law enforcement seized three of these shipments, totaling nearly 20,000 kilograms of cocaine.  If convicted, Gogic faces up to life in prison.

The Juror Tampering Scheme

A jury was selected in Gogic’s criminal trial on Nov. 3, 2025, and Nov. 5, 2025.

On Nov. 13, 2025, during a meeting between Krasniqi, Kupa and Fteja, Kupa explained to Fteja that he and other co-conspirators wanted Fteja to offer a juror money to vote not guilty at trial. Then, in a meeting on Nov. 15, 2025, Fteja informed the juror that they would be paid up to $100,000 to vote not guilty at trial.

According to the investigation, Kupa, Krasniqi and Fteja met again at Krasniqi’s home in Staten Island, Nov. 16, 2025, to discuss the plan.

The next day, Kupa and Krasniqi were arrested at their homes in Staten Island.  At that time, Kupa had a document containing the juror’s name, home address and place of employment.  Krasniqi was in possession of a digital photograph of the juror that he had sent via text message to Fteja. 

Kupa pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.

The government’s case is being handled by the Organized Crime and Gangs Section of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.  Assistant United States Attorneys Emily J. Dean, Tanya Hajjar and Stephen Petraeus are in charge of the prosecution.