Police stop 50 Albanians trying to illegally cross into Greece, arrest drug smuggler

TIRANA, Sept. 22 – Police said Friday they had stopped 50 Albanians trying to illegally cross into neighboring Greece and arrested a person with marijuana as part of an operation in three countries. The Albanians, who were in three groups, were stopped Thursday, questioned and then released in Gjirokastra, Tepelena and Permet, about 180 kilometers south of the capital, Tirana, while trying to cross at two border points with Greece.
Police released them without finding the person who organized the groups. During the operation, held in Albania, Greece and Macedonia, police also arrested a 25-year-old man transporting two kilograms of cannabis. In another case, police in Elbasan arrested Tuesday Suzana Balla, 43, for assisting other persons to illegally cross the border. Post-communist Albania has become a frequent transit point for smugglers taking people, drugs and weapons into the European Union because of its lax border controls, weak judiciary and corrupt police force. The international community has told Albania it must curb trafficking if it wants to join the EU and NATO.