TIRANA, Jan. 14 – Albanian police detained three customs officers at Kakavija, Albania’s largest border crossing with Greece, on Thursday, January 14.
The arrests were made after a vehicle containing 1.3 tons of contraband goods on board was stopped by the police. One of the officers is suspected of having received a bribe of €200 from the driver of the vehicle. All three officials face charges for abuse of power.
The performance of Albania’s customs has been under fire lately as the country is facing falling revenue. 21 high officials of the Albanian customs were sacked as a result of poor performance in collecting custom duties last November. A few days ago, Prime Minister Edi Rama requested the improvement of financial indicators during the annual analysis of the General Directorate of Customs, while he also warned of disciplinary measures in case targets are not reached.
