Policeman injured on the forces’ anniversary

TIRANA, Jan. 14 – As authorities in Tirana were holding a series of ceremonies on Sunday for the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Albanian police forces, one of its officers, Musa Skura, was seriously injured in the northern Mat district in an operation trying to stop smuggling of weapons.
Skura was injured while he was trying to stop and arrest two men considered as suspects of ammunition trafficking. When they were asked to stop, they responded with shooting from their Kalashnikov automatic rifles wounding Skura.
The officer is in serious health condition and has been transported to nearby Italy for a better specialized treatment.
Police have arrested the four suspects, teenagers from Suc village in Mat district. They are also investigated on trying to traffic some 26 boxes of ammunition. The boxes were transported at the place of incident waiting to be sold.
Meanwhile police in Tirana showed how they could cope with a demonstration or make other interventions with special forces.
The minister and other top officials said there had been many achievements in the fight against organized crime and illegal trafficking.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha also hailed police forces for the very special role they play during the election processes and for their role in complying with the entire requirement set from the European partners, thus managing to convince Europe to lift the visa regime two years ago.
But the crime situation has seen better days.
A bus transporting people in southern Tepelene district was robbed at midnight by two armed masked men.
Police claim they have identified and are checking for them.
Fighting organized crime, corruption, illegal trafficking and prostitution remain the main issues of concern for the country’s police.