34 minutes agoAlbania-Italy criminal group hit, SPAK and Anti-Mafia in major action
Periskopi(a month ago)
(a month ago)A joint operation between the Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structour (SPAK) and the Bari anti-mafia structures in Italy has led to the crackdown on a criminal group operating in Albania and Italy, while during investigations about 1m euros of cash, commercial companies, vehicles and bank accounts suspected as the product of criminal activities. Details of the operation were made public during a joint media conference in Bari, attended by SPAK chief prosecutor Klodian Braho, and Italian prosecutor Giuseppe Gatti.
Braho said the operation is the result of a long and successful co-operation between Albanian and Italian authorities in the fight against organised crime.
It's my pleasure to be in Bari today to communicate the investigative results of the joint operation between the Prosecutor General and Bar's anti-mafia. This operation is the result of close co-operation between our structures. Following the investigation were 15 security measures, 10 of which were provided by the First Century Special Court in Tirana”, Braho said.
According to him, an estimated 1m euros before that have been seized during preliminary investigations, while at the request of the prosecution, other considerable assets have been seized, writes Top Channel broadcasting Periscope.
Subsequent commercial companies, vehicles and bank accounts allegedly stemming from criminal activities have been seized. This result does not come on an empty terrain, but it is the continuation of previous co-operation between the Bar police and SPAK”, he said.
The SPAK leader also cited previous joint operations with Italian authorities, stressing that some 170 people involved in criminal activities have so far been sentenced.
“Around 145 of them have received considerable sentences, up to 12 and 15 years in prison. On behalf of the SPAK I want to express appreciation for Italian authorities, especially the Bar Prosecution, specialised anti-mafia and Eurojust structures, as well as for all investigators who contributed to this” operation, Braho said.
Meanwhile, the Bar prosecutor, Giuseppe Gatti, said investigations have revealed serious criminal events, including a murder in the Poulias region, which, according to him, shows the expansion of the Albanian mafia on Italian territory.
We've discovered several criminal events, including murder and collaboration among mafia groups. A registered murder in the Poulias region somehow shows the expansion of the Albanian mafia on our territory”, Gatti said.
He praised co-operation with the SPAK and Albanian authorities, stressing that the partnership between the two countries in the fight against organised crime will continue.
We've done a very good job with SPAK. We thank him for arresting a wanted person in Albania and Italy. Thanks to Eurojust, this co-operation lasts for 10 years and will continue. We are convinced that Albania will manage to fight its mafia, and we will stand by”, the Italian prosecutor said.
