Tirana, Oct 19 (Tirana Echo) – The Serious Crimes Prosecutor of Albania has officially demanded Parliament for the lifting of parliamentary immunity of former interior minister Saimir Tahiri MP, a move which would open the way for his arrest, following allegations of links with drug trafficking network in Italy.
The Serious Crimes Prosecutor comes days after Italian authorities published recordings of arrested drug lords mentioning Tahiri’s name as a recipient of huge sums of money for turning a blind eye while serving as Albania’s minister of interior.
Tahiri stands accused over two counts, that of trafficking illegal narcotics through a structured criminal network and that of pasive corruption of high state officials and elected members of parliament.
According to data deriving from this investigation, the Serious Crimes Prosecutor has demanded the Parliamentary Committee on Mandates at the Albanian Parliament authorization to ‘arrest and full personal control of its residence for member of parliament Saimir Tahiri.
The Prosecutor’s representatives arrived at the Albanian Parliament minutes ago and have hand delivered the official request for Tahiri’s arrest.
Opposition DP chairman Lulzim basha has immediately reacted by asking the Mandates Committee to not delay granting authorization for Tahiri’s arrest, fearing the former interior minister could destroy all relevant and important evidence from his apartment.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed sources have told Tirana Echo that a possible arrest of the Head of the Albanian Police Haki Cako may be coming in the next few hours.
Earlier on in the week, the small Balkan nation was shocked over allegations that its former socialist interior minister may have been supporting a huge drug trafficking gang between Albania and Italy.
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