Police battle drug traffickers near southern border

TIRANA, March 8 – Police in the southern district of Gjirokastra say they have seized 150 kilos of marijuana, arresting two people and seizing several firearms in the process.
The police operation took place in a rural area in the outskirts of the city of Gjirokastra, near the village of Lazarat, which is notorious for this type of drug activity.
Police said the drug traffickers were armed and exchanged fire with police officers for about 20 minutes in an effort to escape.
At least four other people are involved, police said. Those arrested and the suspects were all residents of the nearby town of Delvina, authorities said.
This was the latest in a string of incidents in which police and battled with traffickers and seized large amounts of drugs at the southern tip of Albania, near the border with Greece.