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Arms for ISIS from Albania through Greece?

Information about arms trafficking from Albania to Syria via Greece is being examined by Police The occasion was the dislocation, last Friday, about weapons smuggling and the arrest of eight members, in Tirana, Durres and Shijak, in Albania.

 

According to Kathimerini newspaper, based on information from the Albanian press, claiming Albanian police as a source, place Greece on the route of weapons being shipped from Albania and ending up in Syria.

The Albanian police operation took place on the morning of Friday, 14 November and led to the arrest of eight members of the gang, aged 18-44 years and confiscation of weapons and ammunition. In particular, as stated in the article, in the gangs hideout in Shijak near Durres, police found six Kalashnikov assault rifles, a Scorpion submachine gun with a silencer, six pistols, 5 grenades and thousands of bullets. After the completion of the operation, prosecutors announced through the Chief of Police of Tirana Ardian Cipa that those arrested were involved in international arms smuggling and that they smuggled weapons to Islamist fighters in Syria. The same statement was repeated to newspapers by a representative of the Albanian police who revealed no more.

At the same time, reports in the Albanian press, also implicated Greece in the traffic network. They reported that some of the weapons were moved through Greece and that one member of the gang, 39-year old Clirim X. had been arrested and convicted in Greece for participating in an armed robbery. The 39-year old was even attributed a central role in the activities of the ring as it was he who found the weapons that the ring circulated. However, in another version, the country's involvement in the case arose because of an Albanian secret police officer, who, in order to trap the traffickers, pretended that he was interested in purchasing and exporting arms to Greece and Italy.

The Police Liaison of the Greek Embassy in Tirana is being informed about details of the case, while officers of the newly establishedDirectorate of Police Intelligence are discreetly monitoring developments.