Gunman Killed in Latest Tirana Airport Robbery

A car used by robbers in a previous heist at Tirana International Airport in June 2016. Archive photo: Albania State Police

The thieves entered the airport in a car through a secondary gate, speeding onto the tarmac and robbing the van as the bags of cash were about to be loaded onto a plane, police said in a press release.

"Police followed them along back roads, where in an exchange of fire, one of the robbers died," said the statement.

The other robbers apparently managed to escape, but the exact number of gunmen who fled the scene remains unknown.

Police sent officers and a helicopter to an area in central Albania to search for them.

Albanian banks mostly transfer their cash by plane through the country's sole international airport.

The country's economic model, which is based on remittances brought in cash by immigrants and used to pay for imported goods or services, creates the need to transfer large quantities of cash, mostly to Austria.

This isn't the first such robbery at the airport, raising questions about the police's preparedness to counteract and investigate such cases.

In February 2017, thieves managed to get away with 3.2 million euros in a similar robbery, while in June 2016, another 995,000 euros was stolen. There were two more robberies in 2015.

The amount of money stolen on Tuesday is not yet known.

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