TIRANA, Oct. 19 – A large amount of cannabis was seized in the late hours of Wednesday in Vlora County, with about 10 tons of packed and ready to ship marijuana found in a small house.
A special police force operation, involving more than 100 officers, and the Serious Crimes Prosecution Office acted on a tip targeting the same Albanian-Italian narcotics trafficking gang part of which was recently busted by Italian authorities.
Albanian prosecutors told the media Thursday they believe the drugs were tied to the Habilaj gang, whose leader Moisi Habilaj was arrested in Italy last week.
Prosecution officials said the seizure, in Babice e Vogel village, was part of an investigation launched last year on information obtained from intelligence on the ground. They added the operation constitutes the second phase of the investigation that several months ago led to the seizure of 24 tons of marijuana in Vlora villages.
The Habilaj gang case that has caused a political storm in Albania as Italian wiretaps showed traffickers mentioned the name of former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri, who is a cousin of the Habilajs. Tahiri has been long accused by the opposition of having ties to the gang. He denies all accusations.
State Police also noted they were looking for a suspect Moisi Habilaj’s brother, Florian Habilaj, at the time of the seizure. Three people were detained at the home where the drugs were hidden — including the owner a male nurse know to be a friend of the Habilaj’s police said
National Police Chief Haki Cako said the police operations are ongoing.
The drugs, one of the largest one-time seizures ever, were moved with the help of large police trucks from the Delta Force unit to the central police station in the city of Vlora.
