Cigarette trafficking worth thousands of dollars The heads of the Financial Police in Tirana have been dismissed. And Cela confirms everything CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — Another scandal is now threatening Albania. A financial scandal of extraordinarily large proportions, it has mobilized the head of the Financial Police and the Control Commission. A fraud worth hundreds of thousands of dollars involving customs operations. It is the story of dozens of trucks loaded with cigarettes that entered Albania — coming from Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria — without customs duties being paid, thanks to the cooperation of Albanian officials whom investigators are seeking to identify. “Unfortunately, the incident uncovered is serious,” Blerim Cela, Chairman of the Control Commission, told the newspaper. “We are investigating within the customs service and the Tirana Financial Police to find all those responsible for this scandal. I believe that cases of corruption lie behind this affair.” The entrance to the port of Durrës For now, it is known for certain that the chief and deputy chief of the Tirana Financial Police have been dismissed and several customs officers have been reported to the courts. The investigation is ongoing, which explains the reserved stance of official sources, who for the moment prefer not to provide further details about the scandal. In recent days, numerous meetings have been held to clarify the situation and decide what precautionary measures should be taken. From what could be understood, the scandal was uncovered following an inspection carried out on a truck loaded with cigarettes that arrived at the port of Durrës and had passed through customs without any registration. The incident aroused suspicions, which were later confirmed by further checks. Numerous irregularities were found in the invoices for the goods issued by the countries from which they came, in which the value of the imported cigarettes was much lower than the actual value. For example, if a truck transported tobacco worth $12,000, the value stated on the invoice was $2,000. “We also investigated abroad,” Blerim Cela continued. “We went to Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria, to the companies that had supplied us with the goods and issued the invoices, but we did not receive the necessary cooperation. It was clear that something was wrong, that something was being concealed.” But the smuggling technique did not end there. According to the investigations, when the goods arrived at customs, the quantity of cigarettes recorded on the fiscal documents was reduced, thereby reducing the transport duty as well. “We have had cases,” Cela explained, “where instead of seven tonnes, only 500 kilos were recorded. In this way, customs duties were reduced six or seven times over.” Once the existence of this new form of smuggling had been established, Financial Police investigators and inspectors from the Control Commission began searching for those responsible. As already stated, the initial investigations involved customs officials and Financial Police officers. The court also took an interest in the case. “We have asked the Financial Police to check all the customs documents,” Blerim Cela concluded. “None of the agencies responsible for carrying out inspections will escape accountability.”

Three other boats evade inspection. The “mother ship” is seized Investigation into the presence of a speedboat near Durrës DURRËS — A speedboat belonging to Italian smugglers was discovered two days ago in Albanian waters, near the port of Durrës. The vessel, which had three people from Brindisi on board, was loaded with cigarettes. The boat, seized by the Albanian authorities, had stopped because it had run out of fuel. The incident caused considerable alarm: the Financial Police in Durrës have launched an investigation to establish the reasons for the smugglers’ presence in national waters. It is suspected that cigarette smuggling, thought to have been eliminated over the past two years, has resumed in some parts of the coastline. The patrol boats of the 20th Naval Group of the Italian Navy, based in Durrës, also cooperated in the capture of the speedboat. A cigarette-laden vessel held in the Adriatic — Concern grew after a similar incident that occurred yesterday, this time in international waters. During an operation by the Financial Guard in the southern Adriatic against smuggling, with the assistance of aircraft and naval vessels, a ship was seized. It had been supplying the blue speedboats that would then unload tobacco along the Apulian coast. Its crew was arrested, all three Italian smugglers were reported to the authorities, and cigarettes worth three billion lire were seized. Three of the smugglers’ speedboats evaded capture by hiding in Albanian waters. Despite the search, not a trace of them was found. The speedboat «Felguera», flying the Honduran flag, was intercepted by patrol boats in international waters, west of the small Greek island of Antipaksos, near Corfu, with around five tons of cigarettes on board. The crew (the captain, Greek citizen Dimitrios Dorizas, 39, ... The cigarette-laden vessel held in the Adriatic (above), an extraordinary photograph: a smugglers’ speedboat pursued by the Financial Guard from Ithaca, six Greeks and one Portuguese, two of whom had previously been convicted of smuggling) has been arrested for involvement in the trafficking of foreign-made cigarettes. The speedboat — which had also previously transported hashish destined for one of the EC countries — was towed to the port of Gallipoli (Lecce) after its engine broke down. Shortly beforehand, the Financial Guard had intercepted in territorial waters north of Otranto (Lecce) a speedboat carrying around two tons of foreign-made tobacco taken from the «Felguera». The three people on board, Francesco Marra, 30, Cosimo Del Monte, 33, both from Brindisi, the latter previously convicted of cigarette smuggling, and Neapolitan Erne-sto Muri, 31, were, as noted earlier, reported to the authorities. Three other smuggling speedboats supplied by the same vessel managed to evade capture by hiding in Albanian waters. They had taken on larger quantities of cargo to make it easier to supply the international market. The Financial Guard crew recovered 800 kilograms of cigarettes from the water. The seizure of the «Felguera» follows that of the «Aghios Dionisios», also flying the Honduran flag, in the same waters on 8 May. This confirms the new techniques used by smuggling organizations which, following the war in Yugoslavia—previously used as a supply base—have had to set up floating depots (the so-called “mother ships”) to supply the blue speedboats.

TIRANA — (Ed.La.) For about 45 minutes, the Central Post Office in Tirana was meticulously searched—

EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Skënder Hanhaxhaku, released from Tirana Prison last Thursday by order of the General Prosecutor’s Office, was being sought by the police authorities on Saturday after he left for an unknown destination. The other two men — also released like Hanhzhaku under the same decision — Gjolek Zeneli and Muhamet Mema, are being held in the isolation cells of Police Station No. 3 in Tirana. There has been no official announcement about their re-arrest. It is only known that these people had previously been arrested over the “stolen alcohol” that had circulated in Tirana in recent months, causing the deaths of 11 citizens and seriously poisoning ten others. After four months in detention at Tirana Prison on the charge of “preparing and selling alcoholic beverages dangerous to people’s lives and health,” Skënder Hanhaxhaku, Gjolek Zeneli and Muhamet Mema were declared innocent, and the General Prosecutor’s Office decided to release them, revoke their detention and close the criminal case against them. But not even two days had passed since they were released from prison when, on Saturday night, two of them were detained by the police again. Hanhaxhaku, meanwhile, is still being sought. By Monday noon, Zeneli and Mema were still in the isolation cells of Police Station No. 3; no decision had been made to arrest them and send them back to Tirana Prison, nor to release them. It has not yet been clarified whether the decision to detain again the people just released from prison is connected with the original charge or concerns a new criminal offense.

TIRANA — (Ed.La.) For about 45 minutes, the Central Post Office in Tirana was meticulously searched by police officers after an anonymous phone call reported that a bomb had been placed on its premises. TIRANA — Tirana was meticulously searched by police officers after an anonymous phone call reported that a bomb had been placed on its premises. The call — made the day before yesterday at around 11 in the morning — came through to the post office’s service number 13, and its employee was immediately obliged to notify the police. “The report was false,” one of the police officers from the 2nd Facilities Security Unit told the newspaper, “because the search found no such device or anything resembling what the anonymous caller had reported.” After the search, movement and postal services at the Central Post Office in Tirana returned to normal. The police authorities have still not issued an official statement about the incident, but some post office employees say that the person — still unidentified — used the call to take revenge for a decision that had taken away his telephone number.

The Albanian Parliament well as the provision of emergency medical assistance to citizens of either party who are temporarily will also cooperate in the specialization of medical personnel. PRESIDENT BERISHA’S SPOKESPERSON: YELTSIN DOES NOT KNOW OUR RELATIONS WITH GREECE WELL — Commenting on the recent statement by Russian President Yeltsin in Athens, concerning the problems that recently arose between Greece and Albania, President Berisha’s spokesperson said that it was all based on a misunderstanding by the Russian president. “We are confident that, once he has become more thoroughly acquainted with the matter, he will reassess his statement,” Berisha’s spokesperson stressed. SEMINAR WITH ALBANIAN MPs ON PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES — In the presence of the President of the Republic, a theoretical seminar on parliamentary procedures opened in Tirana, in one of the halls of the Palace of Congresses. MPs from several parties took part. The preparatory course is sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. REGIONAL INSPECTORATE FOR SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND CARE ESTABLISHED — The Albanian Government, on the proposal of the Ministry of Labour, approved the Regional Inspectorate for Social Assistance and Care. It will function as an intermediary body to facilitate communication between the Ministry of Labour and administrative units, and will be responsible for inspecting assistance and care departments in the districts, checking the allocation of block grants to each unit, claims for assistance, and the provision of such assistance. SITUATION AT THE KAKAVIJË BORDER CROSSING NORMALIZES — The return of Albanian refugees through the Kakavijë crossing continued yesterday, and the situation is now calmer. This was reported by the Albanian military authorities at the crossing. According to them, no further acts of violence by Greek police against returning refugees have been reported. There have also been no complaints from citizens about passports torn up by the Greek authorities.

“Eros” pays 100 dollars for daring posers FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANA — Perhaps soon we will also have the first Albanian photo models. The popular newspaper “Eros,” one of the most widely read among young people—and not only among them—has published, in its latest issue, an appeal addressed to young Albanian women: “Pose for us,” the appeal reads, “and you’ll earn 100 dollars.” It is accompanied by several photographs of well-known foreign photo models—mostly clothed—in order to give an idea of what the people making the appeal actually expect from aspiring photo models. One hundred dollars for a photograph: a small temptation for the city’s girls, most of whom are still at school or wait for their assistance payment at the end of each month. Perhaps, at last, one of them will become Albania’s first photo model. A profession many of them have dreamed of, secretly, over time, while leafing through foreign magazines or “Eros” itself. It is not yet known whether anyone has responded positively to the “Eros” editorial office. Perhaps it is too soon. But the answer will not be long in coming. The first signs are already there. Contact with the world has, as if by magic, swept away the traditional restraints placed on Albanian women. The time of suppressing desired feelings has now passed, at least for a majority of city girls. They now take part in fashion shows and pose freely on the “Miss Albania” runway. But now someone is asking for something more: posing half-naked in front of a camera. A request that may seem scandalous to some and exciting to others. It is perfectly normal for things to be this way: the society we are entering is called democratic precisely because there is room for every position and, above all, for everything. What matters is that even in a country where once even innocent kisses in feature films were censored, people should feel completely liberated. That would be a small victory.

Only two days of freedom for those released EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Skënder

ALBANIA AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN SCIENCE — The Albanian Government approved the bilateral cooperation agreement between Albania and Russia. The agreement provides for the exchange of information and experience, as well as the provision of urgent medical assistance to citizens of either party temporarily present in the territory of the other party. Albania and Russia will also cooperate in the specialized training of medical personnel. PRESIDENT BERISHA’S SPOKESMAN: YELTSIN DOES NOT KNOW OUR RELATIONS WITH GREECE WELL — Commenting on the latest statement by

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