Police have blocked 1,000 blocked cars in Durres

DURRES, Aug. 7 – Durres police have blocked some 1,000 cars and motorbikes that have been blocked for driving mistakes and lack of proper documentation over the years, and the fines have not been paid. Some 650 cars have been parked at the Rrashbull police station while 302 cars and 41 motorbikes are in Shkozet. Out of them only 136 have been involved in different penal cases and consequently sequestered from police. Many of them have been blocked since 1993 for lack of proper documentation, that is, for being illegally trafficked into Albania. They have been allegedly stolen in different countries and brought to be sold here. After so many years their owners have stopped asking about them, because the daily fine for them which is the 300 lek per day parking fee brings the total amount higher than the original amount of money they had to pay as a fine. At the same time they are not in good condition after staying for so long without being driven and exposed to sun and rain. They have also created an unpleasant situation at the place where they are parked. In Shkozet they create a problem in an area that is being daily changed by new construction. They also involve a considerable number of police forces to guard them. According to the law, unless the fine is paid within three months the vehicles may be sold by official authorities in an auction. But the legal context has not yet been fully approved for such a procedure. In neighboring Kruja town police have rented an area to shelter 50 blocked cars. Police authorities are preparing a law package that must first be passed by the government and then by parliament in order to enable the police to resolve the problem.