Albanian mobsters to the Primiceri brothers: “Don’t dare set us up, we’ll get rid of you” EXCLUSIVE The story of the Italo-Albanian gang that transported the drugs on the Vlorë-Brindisi ferry line

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The drug network between the boys from Vlorë and the clan already arrested in Italy, Primiceri, is uncovered and documented by wiretaps from the Italian prosecutor’s office. On 17 April 2009, Luigi Primiceri is taken hostage by two Albanians, Erjon Sadiq and Kaflija Nurce. The Albanians would not release the Italian until the handover of 184 kilos of marijuana had been made

Page 11 In the photo: Facsimile of the draft for the concession of “Italia” square and the Mayor Lul Basha Lulëzim Basha signs Rama’s project without any changes BY ESMERALDA KETA

BY FRIDA DIBRA We live in Tirana We often hear or read the most varied impressions given by foreign visitors about Tirana, but how do we feel about the city we live in? How do the ordinary residents of this city feel? Perhaps most of the people who make up its soul do not know the importance that architects and urban planning play in their lives. We deal with our city every day. Often we find ourselves expressing dissatisfaction about certain objects, which anyone among us, without all of us needing to be architects, can see are not in the right place. There is no day when we are not forced to pass through Skënderbej Square, which sometimes appears to us with one face and sometimes with another, but always has something that urges us to leave it. As we have to walk through the streets of Tirana, somewhere we end up in a square whose outline we cannot understand where it begins or where it ends. And this may be one of the only three or four squares in our capital. Immediately after the low buildings that frame the square rise several multi-storey collective housing blocks, distracting attention and turning the square into something miserable. In many areas the city appears contradictory to us. Moving away from the broad boulevard, which welcomes everyone, the city hides within itself another world, with crooked and narrow alleyways, into which by car you often prefer not to enter. And to end this strange stroll with a coffee in the expensive areas of the city, after freezing in a good part of them, it is better not to look up at the unplastered buildings and the multicolored clothes hanging on the balconies of the families, or at a frightening tangle of wires intertwined with one another. ...we have to walk through the streets of Tirana, somewhere we end up in a square whose outline we cannot understand where it begins or where it ends...

Dr. SONILA BOÇI The 1945 census was the fourth census conducted by the Albanian state in its history. Not counting the partial population censuses carried out during the First World War by the Austrians, the Albanian population had been counted in... continues on page 8

ARBEN ROZHANI The Italian Carabinieri, in mid-September 2011, handcuffed 25 people, among them 8 Albanians, who are accused of trafficking hashish, heroin and cocaine from Albania to Italy. The leaders were Salvatore, Ezio and Osvaldo Primiceri, who, since March 2008, had been operating through the company “Transporti Primiceri Vlora”, created in Albania, which owned the Vlorë-Brindisi ferry “Veronica Line” and businesses in Italy. After the arrest in Lecce of the Primiceri brothers, accused of leading the narcotics-trafficking organization, seven companies they owned were also seized. According to the investigations carried out in Italy, passenger transport was a cover for drug trafficking, which was moved from Vlorë to Italy, and the Italian criminal network trafficked around 300 kilograms of marijuana and 19 of cocaine. The drugs were hidden in vehicle tires heading to Italy, and the investigations began after the seizure of around 300 kilograms of cannabis in several separate operations, when 11 Albanian citizens were also arrested... continues on page 3

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Page 14 Horoscope 2012, what the stars predict Love, work, health and money in the coming year

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In 1945 only 31,560 Greek speakers were registered in Gjirokastër, Albania

1991 ... always one step ahead... Raw materials for restaurants, pizzerias, creperies and fast food.