Murder shocks the capital

TIRANA, Sept. 27 – On Monday evening a suspected Albanian gangster, Armando Andoni, alias Arjan Selimi was killed outside his Tirana apartment.
Selimi is wanted by US authorities and is currently on trial in Albania for drug charges. He was shot several times with a Kalashnikov downtown the capital and just outside a caf鮍
That was another frightening event this month following the murder of a judge in southwestern Vlora.
Selimi was arrested in 2004 as part of an international drug bust, which also led to the arrest of 40 suspects in Albania, Kosovo and the United States. In 1998, Selimi had been arrested in Michigan for suspected distribution of approximately one ton of marijuana and was released on bail after which he fled the US. Upon arrival in Albania he assumed the identity Arjan Selimi and opened several businesses in Tirana.
In 2008 he was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment with seven other suspects on drug related charges. Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled for a re-trial of his case, accepting his appeal. He was currently under house arrest after his pre-trial imprisonment terms had expired.
Police hinted that his murder could be part of the criminal games.
Fighting drug trafficking remains a top priority for police.
Four persons were arrested in the capital trafficking considerable amounts of cannabis sativa, heroin and cocaine. Two other persons were arrested in Tirana and southeastern Korca accused of trafficking heroine.