Calmer New Year festivities this time around

TIRANA, Jan. 2 – New Year festivities were generally calm this year.
A good sign was also the fact that there were only six injured from firecrackers in capital Tirana this year. That followed intense pressure on the buyers and also more measures taken in the main streets and the squares where people gather after midnight.
Authorities also exerted pressure in capital Tirana not letting small businessmen increase prices of the items they sold. But, probably not in a fair competition, the city hall also opened a new market in central Tirana where wholesale businesses sold their merchants at lower prices in an unfair competition to the retail ones.
Well Albanians were not pleased any way because their income has fallen and not everyone could cope with the existing prices.
Thousands of Albanian immigrants came home from neighboring Greece but also from and through Italy for the festivities.
It was not that difficult for them to cross the border when they came home but harder to go back. In the border crossings with Greece there was a long queue for days when thousands of them crossed them. The Greek side had fewer checking points thus slowing down the inflow there. Albanian police were often obliged to talk with their Greek counterparts to increase their numbers.
On the other side, the traffic with ferries to Italy was normal but the immigrants learnt an unpleasant tax they have to pay once they resume living there.
During the festivities and the thousands of immigrants coming back home police also needs to keep a close eye and don’t forget they have to continue the fight against illegal human, drug and weapon trafficking or attempts of suspects to cross the border.
Because of that reason a policeman in the southeastern Kapshtica border crossing points was put under arrest after he had allegedly let free a person wanted for a crime.
With the end of the New Year festivities troubles started. Two main pillars of energy transmission were seriously damaged in the Lezha district with some kilos of explosion. Police have not found any suspect or have not declared anyone wanted.