TIRANA, Feb. 15 – One of the smugglers responsible for the drowning of a group of Albanian undocumented migrants on Jan. 9, 2004 was extradited from Italy to Albania, where he faces 20 years in prison after being tried and convinced in absentia.
Authorities said Elton Tafili was part of a criminal group trafficking people back in 2004 and set up the smuggling of migrants to Italy, booking passage for Albanian citizens, mostly residents of Shkodra and Northern Albania.
The boat, with which they were being trafficked, capsized in Albanian territorial waters and 28 people died, with seven bodies never found. After the event, Tafili left Albania and has been wanted by Interpol for more than 10 years.
On April 13, 2016, Italian police arrested him after a routine check.
Eleven people survived after the boat capsized, six of whom were smugglers. The tragedy sparked a wave of protests in Albania, while the families of the victims say justice has not been been fully done and all those involved should pay.
Human smuggling between Albania and Italy was common place until a decade ago when Albania’s former government banned the use of speedboats in Albanian waters.
Drug smuggling on the same route has returned to the headlines since the current government lifted the speedboat ban.
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