Saimir Tahiri

Albania Special Prosecutors Office in Tirana. Photo: Albanian Prosecution Office.

Tirana's Special Court Against Organised Crime and Corruption found Sokol Bode, chief of police in the southern Albanian village of Dhermi, guilty in absentia.

Bode has been on the run since Italian police cracked a cannabis smuggling ring dubbed 'the Habilaj Brothers.'

Their story, contained in court documents seen by BIRN, speaks to the well-placed connections that grease the wheels of Albanian drug trafficking, connections that in the case of Seferi and Ajdini stretched all the way to the security detail of the country's then interior minister.

Drug deal negotiated under police guard

A screen from Italian police footage showing drug seizures during the operation.

Among those arrested are both current and former Albanian police officers. SPAK described two of the arrested as officers who "at the time when they carried out their illegal activities in 2016 were members of the staff of the [then] Minister of Interior".

The main opposition party in Albania reacted with outrage after the First Instance Court of Serious Crimes in Tirana on Thursday found former interior minister Saimir Tahiri not guilty of charges of international drug trafficking and association with a criminal organization.

Saimir Tahiri. Photo: EPA-EFE/MALTON DIBRA

The trial in Albania of the former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri is approaching the finish line with prosecutors demanding a 12-year sentence for him and Jaeld Çela, a former police officer who is currently on the run.

Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday axed seven of his 14 ministers after a year of popular protests against government policies.

Rama summoned the National Assembly of his governing Socialist Party in Tirana and insisted that the changes were "not the result of failures".

The trial of the notorious alleged underworld figure Emiljano Shullazi is nearing its end, but a lack of a lead prosecutor has prevented the Serious Crime Prosecution Office from delivering its closing arguments for the past seven weeks.

The US ambassador to Albania Donald Lu warned on Sunday that pressure is high on the judges handling the case of former interior minister Saimir Tahiri - who is expected to appear before the Serious Crime Appeals Court on Monday after being put under house arrest on May 12.

Thousands of Albanians joined the anti-government protests held on Saturday in Albanian capital of Tirana, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj over alleged role in drug smuggling.

Protesters threw stones at the main government buildings. According to the police, 11 people were injured, mostly police officers.

In a statement released on Wednesday Marku said that his office believes that the sacking of Hajdarmataj "will bring results in fast and effective penal proceedings for cases with a high priority."

Hajdarmataj however told BIRN that he didn't knew the reason for his firing, but he expected to be able to continue to work on Tahiri's case.