50 trucks with coffee, cigarettes... have not entered the Albanian customs post of Qafë-Thanë for 10 days META: ARREST THE PERSON WHO WILL USE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS’ NAMES Angjeli: There will be no concession. Everyone will pay SMUGGLERS’ SCENARIO! Majko, Meta, Angjeli, Koçi to be smeared... META: ARREST THE PERSON WHO WILL USE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS’ NAMES Angjeli: There will be no concession. Everyone will pay TIRANA - The deputy prime minister and captain of the government’s monetary policy? Arben Malaj, minister of Finance, Anastas Angjeli, deputy minister of customs revenue, minister of Transport, Spartak Poçi, minister of Trade? of the Interior, Fehmi Agani[?], minister of Culture? Elmaz Sherifi, and senior customs directors have been at the center of a broad smear campaign launched with the aim of tarnishing their image and their role. It seems that the days of governing with close monitoring and strict control of trafficking across the borders from all directions have hurt their interests, and desperate efforts are being made to revive not only the slanderers, but also old criminal schemes. This is what has happened with a quantity of goods that has been at the Qafë-Thanë customs point for 10 days and has not yet been cleared through customs. The goods are 50 trucks with cigarettes, coffee, detergents, with a value of nearly 2 million dollars. The deputy minister of Finance, Arben Malaj, explained that this shipment arrived without the relevant documents and that the blocking of the goods was therefore ordered. He said that since those who ordered it to pass without completing the customs clearance procedures used the names of top government officials, a full investigation is being carried out to find the perpetrators. Meta reacted harshly, declaring that the person who uses government officials’ names will be arrested. In parliament, yesterday there was a controversy, related to the scenario of the involvement of high-ranking people in trafficking? Among others, the head of the faction, Ben Blushi[?], called for the case to be clarified. Asked? whether customs revenues in Albania have fallen in recent months, this has led the government to tighten controls. Finance Minister Anastas Angjeli said that there will be no concession in this shipment and that those who have tried to use ministers’ names to avoid duties will be held accountable. Yesterday afternoon arrived urgently: Extraordinary readiness CUSTOMS At the railway transport terminal(?) of Qafë-Thanë there are rows of trucks and customs officers. Part of the text is illegible[?]

Yesterday afternoon arrived urgently: Extraordinary readiness At the railway terminal of Qafë-Thanë, around 4:00 p.m., a group of experts, specialists, and laboratory technicians arrived, among whom there were also well-known doctors, led by Professor Faqe? Anxhobari[?]. They had left Tirana a few hours earlier to carry out laboratory analyses of the shipment of goods. This was done in order to determine the type and financial value of the goods, to avoid the possibility of false declaration. This group includes specialists from the chemical laboratory of the General Directorate of Customs, health experts, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Finance. Upon departure for Qafë-Thanë, instructions were given for the analyses to be carried out very carefully and to be completed as soon as possible, bearing in mind the importance of this issue. According to official sources, measures have been taken to ensure that there is no interference in the process of verifying and inventorying the goods. Customs officers declared that work was being carried out throughout the day to accurately identify the blocked goods. Some of the packages had no labels or had incomplete documentation, which increased the authorities’ suspicions. The Minister of Finance has requested that every action be carried out in accordance with the law and that no political or administrative pressure will influence decision-making. It has also been announced that the investigative bodies will be asked to cooperate in order to verify the origin of the shipment and the route it followed up to the border. The customs authorities have stated that this case will be handled transparently and that the public will be informed of the results of the analyses as soon as they are completed. There are some unreadable words due to the image quality and the inverted page[?]