Saimir Tahiri

‘They’re Police’: Hapless Albanian Drug Couriers and a Minister’s Muscle

Their story, contained in court documents seen by BIRN, speaks to the well-placed connections that grease the wheels of Albanian drug trafficking, connections that in the case of Seferi and Ajdini stretched all the way to the security detail of the country's then interior minister.

Drug deal negotiated under police guard

Albanian Police Arrested in International Anti-Drug Trafficking Raids

A screen from Italian police footage showing drug seizures during the operation.

Among those arrested are both current and former Albanian police officers. SPAK described two of the arrested as officers who "at the time when they carried out their illegal activities in 2016 were members of the staff of the [then] Minister of Interior".

Albania Fires Prosecutor in Ex-Minister's Drugs Case

In a statement released on Wednesday Marku said that his office believes that the sacking of Hajdarmataj "will bring results in fast and effective penal proceedings for cases with a high priority."

Hajdarmataj however told BIRN that he didn't knew the reason for his firing, but he expected to be able to continue to work on Tahiri's case.

Albania Ex-Minister Quits Parliament to Fight Smuggling Claims

Six months after Albania's ruling Socialist Party used its parliamentary majority to block a request for his arrest on suspicion of drug smuggling, Albania's longest-serving Minister of Interior, Saimir Tahiri, on Thursday said he will resign as an MP, losing his immunity from arrest in the process.

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