An Albanian man from Kosovo who appeared in a music video by global rap star Drake has come under renewed scrutiny following new reporting that reveals a deep criminal past in the United States and alleged links to organized crime investigations.
According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the man is 62-year-old Hamdi Lataj, who now lives in one of Toronto’s most exclusive condo towers and appears to lead a lavish lifestyle — posing with luxury cars, sitting courtside at Toronto Raptors games and maintaining an active social media presence.
He gained wider attention after appearing in Drake’s 2023 music video for “Polar Opposites,” released on November 29, 2023. In the video, Lataj is seen laughing and chatting with the rapper in a dark, gambling-den setting, while individuals wear red jackets featuring the Albanian eagle. The video has amassed around 9.7 million views on YouTube, but his presence has only recently come under scrutiny.
It is unclear whether Drake was aware of Lataj’s background. Neither man has commented publicly, and Drake’s representatives did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Lataj’s past, however, includes multiple criminal cases. He entered the United States illegally in 1986 and failed an asylum claim the following year. He remained in the country during appeals and accumulated a criminal record, including a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to commit bank burglary in Brooklyn, New York.
Court documents show he was part of a group of émigrés from the former Yugoslavia and Albania who planned and carried out bank and commercial burglaries in the New York area. In the 2001 case, the group attempted to break into a bank through the roof, but Lataj was arrested while fleeing in a Cadillac. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison and faced deportation proceedings after his release in 2003.
In a 2013 U.S. indictment tied to drug trafficking and money laundering, Lataj was named alongside alleged crime figures, including Arif Kurti. However, he was never brought to trial, and his name was later redacted from the public version of the indictment.
At some point, Lataj moved to Canada, where he has no known criminal convictions but has appeared in multiple law enforcement investigations.
A 2016 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) file shows he was suspected of cocaine trafficking alongside Mexican cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Authorities said they had “reasonable grounds” to believe he was involved, though he was never formally charged.
In another investigation known as Project Hobart, Lataj was placed under surveillance as part of a suspected illegal gambling and money laundering network allegedly involving members of the Hells Angels biker gang and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia. Again, no charges were laid against him.
Despite this past, Lataj appears to have built a life of wealth. Records show he has companies registered at a luxury penthouse in downtown Toronto, where rents exceed $11,000 per month. He frequently posts photos with high-end cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and has been seen courtside at Raptors games, including alongside former star Kyle Lowry during the team’s 2019 success.
He has also donated approximately €200,000 to community projects in Kosovo.
Analysts suggest that appearing alongside Drake in a music video may contribute to an image of street credibility, particularly amid the rapper’s long-running feud with Kendrick Lamar.
“You’re not a rap artist, you a scam artist,” Lamar rapped in one diss track, criticizing Drake’s authenticity.
