Ex-Albania minister under house arrest amid drug probe

TIRANA: An Albanian court ruled Saturday to put under house arrest a former interior minister, politically allied with Prime Minister Edi Rama, as he is investigated over his alleged links with cannabis smugglers.
Saimir Tahiri, interior minister from 2013 to 2017, is also suspected of "passive corruption (committed) by officials," a court statement said. He rejects the allegations.
Earlier this month Tahiri, 38, resigned as an MP to 'face justice' over what he called 'fake accusations' against him.
Investigations into the cannabis smuggling and Tahiri's alleged links to it opened in Albania and Italy last October after the arrest of four Albanian suspected drug traffickers in Italy.
Local newspapers then revealed the existence of taped phone conversations that appear to compromise Tahiri.
The parliament lifted Tahiri's immunity in October to enable his questioning and search of his home in Tirana.
Rama said on Facebook he was respecting the court's ruling and called for an 'independent, transparent process.'
A US embassy in Tirana statement said the tribunal's decision was a "sign that this important corruption case will be decided fairly and transparently in the courts."
A European Union candidate country since 2014, Albania is under pressure from Brussels to tackle its problems of drug trafficking, corruption and organised crime.
For years the country has been the main exporter of cannabis to the EU, notably Italy, according to a number of Europol reports.
That trade represents at least the value of a third of Albania's gross domestic product (GDP).
A 2017 State Department report said Albania is also "a transit point for cocaine and heroine aimed at European markets".
In February police seized in the northern port of Durres a record 613kg of Colombian cocaine in a cargo of bananas.
An Albanian businessman suspected of being involved in the smuggling of the drug, with a market value estimated at 180 million euros (RM 850,499,905.59), was arrested in Germany.
Earlier Saturday, Albanian police and prosecutors said they arrested 18 people suspected of trafficking more than five tonnes of cannabis towards Turkey and the EU. — AFP