Tirana Police Arrest 31 in Drug Crackdown Near Schools
Police in Tirana arrested 31 people and identified 52 members of a network that sold drugs near schools, in an operation called Clean Schools following a four month investigation.
Police in Tirana have carried out a large scale operation codenamed Clean Schools, arresting 31 people suspected of selling drugs right next to elementary and secondary schools in the Albanian capital. The operation followed a four month investigation run by the Narcotics Section of the Tirana Police Directorate, working together with the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Albanian police, investigators spent four months in the field and identified 52 members of groups that, acting alone or as part of an organized network, sold various types of drugs near schools and at several other locations across Tirana. Arrest warrants have been issued for another 14 people suspected of belonging to the same network, and the search for them was still underway as of the latest reports.
What was seized in the Clean Schools operation?
According to the official police statement, the investigation and the arrests led to the seizure of:
- just over a kilogram of heroin
- a kilogram and 265 grams of cocaine
- a firearm and 90 rounds of ammunition
- two electronic scales
- 12 vehicles
- 35 mobile phones
Alongside the drugs and the weapon, police confiscated other items they suspect are linked to criminal activity. Investigators said the electronic scales had been used to weigh out the drugs before they were sold.
The investigation also uncovered how the dealers tried to stay off the police’s radar. Rather than selling drugs openly on the street, where they would be easier to spot, the dealers reportedly moved their product through skateboards, taxis and delivery services, a method that made it considerably harder for police to track their movements near schools and other locations around the city.
Albanian authorities have not yet said when charges will be filed against the 31 people who were arrested, nor when the search for the remaining 14 suspects might end. According to the Tirana Police Directorate, the Clean Schools operation hit a network of 52 identified members in total, more than half of whom, 31 people, were already arrested in the first wave of raids, while police say the investigation on the ground is continuing. The case is being handled by the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, which has been involved since the investigation began, working alongside the Narcotics Section of the Tirana Police Directorate.
