Albanian police seize nearly €1mn gained by former drug trafficker

Albanian police seize nearly €1mn gained by former drug trafficker
Albania police seized nearly €1mn from killed marijuana trafficker's banks / wikicommons
By bne IntelliNews August 23, 2018

Albanian police have seized nearly €1mn from a bank account belonging to a family of a drug a trafficker, who were killed last year in Greece, local media reported on August 22.

The seizure was part of the operation dubbed “Force of Law” conducted in period November 2017-August 2018.

Albania was previously known as a major marijuana producer, until the launch of a government crackdown in 2014, which significantly reduced cannabis plantations. At its peak, the cultivation of cannabis accounted for about half of Albania’s GDP. Albanian drug trafficking groups also smuggle heroin, cocaine and other drugs to EU countries.

As part of the operation, the state police seized ALL111.4mn (€889,000) suspected to be gained during criminal activities of the citizen R.S. related to drug trafficking in Greece, Albanian Daily News reported, citing the police as saying.

Investigation will continue for finding movable and immovable property as well as other bank accounts.

According to Albanian Daily News, the money belonged to Roland Shembitrasi, 39, who was killed in October 2017 in Athens after a drug trafficking operation.

After his death, the seized property was transferred to his family.

 

News

Dismiss