Albania Officials Trade Blame Over Drug Case Delays

Albania's Minister of Justice, Ylli Manjani, on Wednesday admitted that the Greek authorities had requested the arrest of Klemend Balili, an Albanian businessman and former director of Transport Services in the Region of Saranda, on suspicion of drugs trading.

The Albanian authorities have not yet confirmed whether he is under an arrest warrant.

Minister Manjani, who is a member of the Socialist Movement of Integration, a party with which the Balili family has multiple connections, has denied that his ministry sat on the case, claiming that the Greek police file on him was "translated at speed," and delivered to the Prosecution Office.

Manjani said on Facebook that the file, which contains evidence collected by Greek police of Balili's role as financier of an international drug trafficking ring, reached Albania on November 14.

"The Minister of Justice is neither a prosecutor, nor a judge nor a policeman! Whoever has authority to arrest and judge Balili should do it!" Manjani said adding that the file was delivered on December 6 to the Prosecutor General's Office.

Hours earlier, Albania's Top Channel TV reported that Greek diplomatic sources had informed it that Greece sent Albania the file over a month ago and that the Ministry of Justice had delayed its delivery to the Prosecution Office. 

Greek police carried a massive anti-drugs operation last May, confiscating hundreds of kilos of marijuana and arresting several traffickers suspected of being part of an international ring responsible for smuggling drugs from Albania to Western Europe via a network of bogus transport companies.

At the time, Greek media reported that Athens suspected the head of the Directorate for Transport in the Saranda Region of Albania was the...