In Albania, in the early hours of the morning, a quantity of 613 kilograms of cocaine was seized, which in the market could reach about 180 million of euros. The drugs that came from Colombia were found hidden in containers carrying bananas.
Two people were arrested and another is wanted. Police and the Prosecution of Serious Crimes co-ordinating the operation spoke of a successful intervention, while according to the opposition the amount of cocaine caught is an evidence that organized crime with the government support has taken the control of the heavy drug traffic.
The ship launched from Colombia came to the Port of Durres of February 19, as it had previously been in transit to Italy and Malta. Doubts came from the customs investigation, which then signaled the police. The latter with the Serious Crimes Prosecution decided to intervene yesterday evening. "The cocaine was hidden in a double-floor container loaded with bananas The operation was launched during the evening of February 27, 2018, at the Navy Port of Durres, when the legitimate banana load was taken over by the ordering company "Arbri Garden", with the owner A.C. The quantity of narcotic stuff was packed in 528 packs, wrapped with a special paper, with codes placed by the traffickers.The container arriving at the Port of Durres was held under uninterrupted observation until they arrived at the company's warehouses by the State Police structures. Police services have surrounded the facility's outer perimeter and then intervened inside the warehouse. After the complete container control, they have been able to find and sequester the narcotics," explained the General Director of Police, Ardi Veliu.
Donald Lushaj, 25, and Armando Pezaku, 25, are arrested, while the owner of the firm A.Ç. where the drug was seized is declared wanted. Both Veliu and the Chief Prosecutor of Serious Crimes have argued that investigations continue with foreign partners, to discover the ties of this group and other people involved and to identify their assets.
But while the operation is considered to be one of the most successful, since it is about of a huge amount of drugs, never discovered previously in the country, and worth of about 180m euros, for the opposition is about a warning chronicle from it and that according to opposition the operation was enabled by foreign partner agencies. "A single consignment of 180 million euros. I have denounced and we denounced it tens of times in parliament, in your media and everywhere, the cannabis era is now enriched with heroin, cocaine and dirty money laundering. And here is the existential risk to society, because as the prosecutor of Antimafia said, now the risk of criminality has shifted towards politics and economy," said Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha.
After Mr. Basha's statements reacted the police, which specified that the operation was carried out exclusively by Albanian agencies, and as a consequence calls tha attack of the opposition as "unintelligible and absurd", when in fact, as the statement states, "this was the better case to appreciate and congratulate the work of the police and other law enforcement agencies of Albania ".
On his part, President Ilir Meta welcomed today's action. "Emphasizing the main danger that comes for the country's national security from the strengthening of organized crime and drug trafficking, the President calls for further deepening and intensification of the cooperation of law enforcement agencies with international partners, the necessity to increase capacity to strengthen border security of the country, and encourages the cleansing of the State Police and all law enforcement agencies from the incriminated elements," the statement states.
US Ambassador to Tirana Donald Lu congratulated on behalf of the US Embassy and DEA the Albanian police saying that the operation that led to the capture of large amounts of cocaine "is a positive indicator of police vigilance but also a worrying sign that the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs is on the rise. The United States - the statement goes on - will continue to assist and support law enforcement efforts to prevent drug trafficking in Albania and to arrest responsible persons."
Also, the Delegation of the European Union in Tirana "complimented the customs and and the police for the successful operation of seizing 614kg of cocaine in the port of Durres. Well done and continue the fight against organized crime. Organized crime cannot win over the force of law. The Albanian state must be vigilant and strong against organized crime groups, which try to expand drug trafficking," concludes the EU statement.