C O N F I D E N T I A L TIRANA 000564

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (MBENEDICT) AND INL/AAE
NSC FOR BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2016
TAGS: KCRM PGOV ASEC PINR KFRD CVIS KRIM AL
SUBJECT: GOA CRACKING DOWN ON ORGANIZED CRIME AND PASSPORT
FRAUD

REF: A. 05 TIRANA 1461

¶B. TIRANA 398
¶C. TIRANA 436

Classified By: Ambassador Marcie B. Ries. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Two unrelated, but widely reported arrests
were made in recent days, both of which highlight the fight
of Albanian police and prosecutors against corruption and
organized crime. In the first case, seven members of a drug
trafficking network who were laundering proceeds through
construction projects were arrested simultaneously in four
cities across the country. According to media reports,
prosecutors obtained warrants authorizing the seizure of
apartment buildings, beach-front property, cash, and luxury
vehicles. In the second case, the chief of police and three
of his staff in the central Albanian city of Tepelena were
arrested for producing false passports. END SUMMARY.

CONSTRUCTION GANG ARRESTED
————————–

¶2. (SBU) Following a year-long investigation carried out by
the Serious Crimes Prosecutor’s Office and the Albanian State
Police (ASP), the Special Operations Force of the ASP
arrested on May 23, 2006 seven members of a drug trafficking
and money laundering network. The operation was carried out
in simultaneous pre-dawn raids in four cities across Albania:
Tirana, Elbasan, Durres, and Vlora. The arrested include the
purported boss of the network, Ilir Kociaj, as well as
Geront Tola (AKA Geront Dedja), Zamir Vadardha, Bledar
Balliu, Aleksandre Kolici (AKA Aleksandre Gremi), Leonard
Cobaj, and Ervin Tavanxhi. The latter is the son of a former
Democratic Party (DP) member of parliament, Kozma Tavanxhi,
who served between 1992 and 1996. The seven have been charged
with international drug trafficking and participation in
organized crime. These names have been provided to the
Consular Section for inclusion in Consular Lookout and
Accountability System.

¶3. (SBU) The investigation was begun last June by the
Prosecutor of Serious Crimes, following information obtained
from the prosecutor of Florence, Italy, which indicated that
the defendants were involved in drug trafficking in the
regions of Tuscany and Lombardy in 2003-2004. According to
media reports, some of those arrested were wanted by Italian
authorities and had fled that country in 2004 following the
arrest of 13 other Albanians involved in drug trafficking and
organized crime. In addition to trafficking drugs into Italy,
the group also reportedly operated in The Netherlands,
Germany, and France. During the raids, police seized
USD29,000, Euro3,000, LEK1 million, and four new luxury
Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

¶4. (SBU) In addition to vehicles, the individuals reportedly
invested in construction projects and other fixed assets,
including luxury apartments and beach-side villas. Such
lucrative investments have become the instrument of choice
for money laundering. Prosecutors have established a direct
connection between a 12-story apartment building currently
under construction in Elbasan and Ilir Kociaj, the purported
crime boss and owner of a construction firm in that city. The

Prosecutor’s office reportedly has made such solid links to
two other apartment-building construction projects in Elbasan
and Tirana, as well as the purchase of several luxury
apartments in Tirana and beach-front properties in Durres and
Vlora. Authorities have frozen the assets and banking
accounts of all of the suspected individuals as well as the
associated construction companies.

CORRUPT POLICE OFFICIAL ARRESTED FOR PASSPORT FRAUD
——————————————— ——

¶5. (SBU) On May 23, 2006, Afrim Zeqiri, Chief of police in
Tepelena, was arrested along with his driver, Xhevhir
Myrtajn, Passport clerk, Ali Hajdini, and Police Inspector,
Behar Pasha. These arrests followed the arrest of a wanted
individual from Kukes who was found in possession of a
passport issued in Tepelena. Zeqiri and the others are
accused of having knowingly produced a passport with a false
name for a known criminal wanted by the police. Based on an
investigation carried out by the Internal Control Service of
the Ministry of the Interior, 60 other cases have been
uncovered at the Tepelena office in which passports have been
issued in names which do not appear in the Civil Registry of
that locale. (NOTE: In the Albanian system, there is no
central passport issuance agency and passports are issued by
regional offices based on birth and civil registration
records in that locale. Typically, passports can only be
issued for individuals who are registered in that district.
END NOTE.) It is believed that applicants paid up to 1000
Euros for a false passport.

¶6. (C) COMMENT: These high profile raids and arrests are
examples that Albanian prosecutors and police can point to
they work to demonstrate that they are serious about cleaning
things up. The next step will be getting these criminals
convicted. It will be interesting to see how the process
plays out between the police, the prosecutors, and the
judges, particularly in the current overheated political
climate. These high profile cases underscore the importance
of cooperation between prosecutors and police in attacking
organized crime and corruption (see reftel C). End Comment.
RIES

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/05/06TIRANA564.html#