TIRANA, Aug 17 – Months after the government launched its rule of law operations to end power theft, the audits and arrests continue, according to official data.
This week, the national police and the state-owned power distribution monopoly, OSHEE, said they had continued to cut illegal connections to the power grid and identified several cases of suspected energy theft.
In a press releases, police said that during the second week of August 85 audits had taken place, with 30 cases of power theft and 32 perpetrators discovered.
Eight people were arrested, ten others have been declared wanted and 14 people are still being investigated before police decide on whether to press charges.
Earlier this month, police also arrested two OSHEE employees and a regional director who are accused of helping people steal power and interfering with investigation processes through abuse of power.
Police and power company officials said in a statement they will continue the operation against energy theft “until the last illegal connection is cut and all those responsible will be brought to justice be they business representatives, individuals or employees.”
Civil rights activists and media outlets have complained that the poorest in society are often hit hardest by the government’s and OSHEE’s punitive measures.
News24 TV reported this week on a heart wrenching story in the northern town of Puka, where the father and the only source of income for the Prendi family had been arrested for an illegal power connection, leaving behind four children, three orphans and an infant living in a half-built room missing windows.
“It seems, that in Puka at least, most of the people being arrested, come from the poorest strata of society,” the television report noted.
