Albanian gang organizing clandestine trafficking to the United States with false documents was demolished

 Albanian Police announced the crash of a large group suspected of involvement in human trafficking, through the use of forged documents for their travel to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. At least 15 people were handcuffed, seven others under house arrest and two were forced to appear during a nationwide operation that involved 300 police forces. The arrests were made following a lengthy investigation in collaboration with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) at the US Embassy in Tirana. A joint Albanian-American investigative task force, called JOINT SHIELD, was set up specifically for this investigation.

"Investigations into this criminal group began after the identification of a case of selling a forged American passport in Tirana and then expanded to an international criminal group, dedicated to the illegal crossing of state borders, forgery of various documents such as identity card, passport, driving license, or health card”, explained the General Director of the Albanian Police Ardi Veliu in a press conference together with Antonio Zamudion, Special Agent, responsible for criminal investigations in the Diplomatic Security Service at the American Embassy in Tirana.

Antonio Zamudion while speaking, Ardi Veliu on his left and their collaborators on sides

"This criminal group - said Mr. Veliu - after providing suspected forged documents in Albania, but also in various countries such as Kosovo, recruited interested persons, in order to travel to the US, Canada or the United Kingdom. , and also provided them with accommodation in various EU countries, including travel tickets.

The suspected documents of being counterfeit were sent by tourist agency buses, mainly to Italy and Germany, and from the airports of these countries, various citizens tried to use forged documents, with the aim of their final destination in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom or other countries.

"Investigations against this criminal group, during a year, have managed to document several cases of persons arrested in countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom," said the Police Director, adding that the criminal group has been documented for criminal activities related to the arrests and detentions of persons who have attempted to travel from Albania to Canada and the United Kingdom”.

The group is said to have sold false documents to Albanian citizens wishing to obtain visas to the United Kingdom and the United States.