Eight arrested in arms trafficking case

TIRANA, Nov. 15 – Albanian police arrested eight people on Nov. 14 after an investigation into alleged arms trafficking to Syria.
The arrests took place in Tirana, the capital, and the nearby cities of Shijak and Durres.
Police showcased seven automatic rifles, two shotguns, six pistols, five grenades and other ammunition they had seized as part of the operation, adding that four other suspects remain at large.
Police did not say how weapons were being shipped to Syria.
Albania, a NATO member, has vowed to support its allies in the fight against ISIS, but the country is also an origin for some tens of people joining different rebel forces in Syria, including the ISIS terrorist group. Scores of ethnic Albanians from the region have also gone to join Syrian insurgents. Seven or eight have died so far, according to local media reports.
The country’s religious leaders and have urged their followers not to join rebel groups in Syria. And the government has made it a crime to do so.