58 operations, hundreds of arrests/ State Police in one month

2026-06-13 10:58:00, Aktualitet CNA

The State Police has made a work report for the month of May.

According to reported data, during the month of May, 1,436 cases of various criminal offenses were identified, of which 1,331, or 92.6%, were detected.

For these criminal offenses, 1376 suspected perpetrators have been identified, of whom 247 have been placed in custody (arrested or detained), 1055 have been processed at large and 60 have been declared wanted.

During this period, 58 police operations were finalized to crack down on criminal activities in the field of narcotics, illegal possession of weapons, cracking down on gambling, "Call Centers", prostitution, crimes against the person and property, etc.

Among the most important operations, we can mention the 4 phases of Operation “Zonet”, to crack down on drug distribution near schools and in various areas of Tirana. During these phases and several other crackdowns in this area, over 2.7 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, significant amounts of money, as well as other items and evidence related to criminal activity were seized.

Operation "Network" and several other raids, where 17 firearms and combat ammunition, 6 defensive grenades and about 1 kilogram of explosives were seized.

Operation "Hold On", for the detection and attack of an environment adapted as a "Call Center".

Operation "Wrong Transaction", within which 11 security measures were executed against 11 employees of a second-tier bank, who are suspected of having, through forgery and computer intrusions, embezzled 309,740 euros and 92,000 dollars from two clients.

During operations, but also during daily work, 46 nationally wanted persons and 6 internationally wanted persons were arrested, mainly for criminal activities in the field of narcotics, crimes against property and persons, as well as illegal trafficking.

In the field of property theft, 205 cases were identified and 169 of them or 82% were solved. For these cases, 196 perpetrators were identified, of whom 57 were arrested, 101 were criminally prosecuted and 38 were declared wanted.

8 operations to crack down on gambling have been conducted and finalized, where 26 perpetrators have been arrested and prosecuted, and gambling machines and computers, poker tables and sums of money have been seized.

Tirana Police

The Tirana Local Police Directorate, in cooperation with the Tirana Prosecutor's Office, during May 2026 finalized an important operation codenamed "The Forgers", where two bases of forgery of various documents such as patents, identity cards and biometric passports were discovered and 4 citizens were arrested. The forgeries of documents ranged from 80 thousand old lek to 1 million 800 thousand lek for biometric passports, which were ordered by citizens from Kosovo to be used in European Union countries.

Also, in the field of economic and financial crime, 168 cases with 197 perpetrators have been identified, of which 36 have been arrested, 151 have been prosecuted and 10 have been declared wanted.

In order to crack down on prostitution, two operations codenamed "Flats" and "Foleja" have been finalized, where 5 foreign nationals have been arrested.

Six phases of the operation codenamed "Stolen Line" have been carried out, with the objective of cracking down on cases of trafficking in Albania of vehicles stolen abroad, where six vehicles worth between 50,000 and 500,000 euros have been seized. Six citizens have been prosecuted for these cases.

3 cases of fraud to obtain sums of money have been identified and cracked down on, by presenting themselves as officials or relatives of the persons being deceived, in order to obtain considerable sums in euros.

To prevent and combat environmental crimes, 123 cases have been investigated, 143 perpetrators have been identified, of whom 10 have been arrested, 127 have been prosecuted and 6 have been declared wanted.

As part of the prevention and crackdown on the cultivation of narcotic plants, 3,000 cannabis seeds were seized, and 1,415 suspected cannabis plants and seedlings were destroyed.

During the month of May and the first two weeks of June, a total of 2,156 conflicts were handled, of which 90 were family conflicts, while 2,066 were for various reasons. For all these cases, procedural actions were carried out in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office, preventing their escalation.

I would like to emphasize that, thanks to the timely response, professional and investigative work carried out by the investigative structures of the Tirana DVP, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office, 5 serious criminal events were documented with legal evidence in a short time, specifically the murder of a 17-year-old, the murder in Kamëz on "Dervish Luzha" street of a 27-year-old, the kidnapping of a 34-year-old, the injury of a police officer, as well as the unraveling of the armed robbery of a jewelry store in Kamëz.

Also, I cannot fail to mention and I want to publicly thank the police officers for their quick and professional response yesterday, where the perpetrator was caught in real time, who, under the threat of an object that appeared to be a firearm, but was plastic, attempted to rob a money transfer company in Shkoza.

In function of the new way of monitoring road traffic, on interurban roads the Police services have minimized contacts with drivers of vehicles and motor vehicles, while the identification of violations is achieved through monitoring with intelligent means. Meanwhile, in urban centers, monitoring has been intensified, focusing strongly on speeding, wrong overtaking, failure to give priority to pedestrians, double and triple parking on sidewalks, impeding the free movement of vehicles, pedestrians and, worse yet, emergency vehicles, which must arrive in real time where they are needed.

Tirana is almost always experiencing an increase in vehicle traffic, and for this reason, the Traffic Police intervenes on the busiest roads to facilitate movement.

During this period, the Tirana Traffic Police has identified 6,214 cases of violations that violate road safety, or 1,895 more cases compared to the previous month.

Despite the voluminous work, risk analyses and intensified monitoring, 53 road accidents have occurred, of which unfortunately 3 resulted in the loss of life of 3 citizens.

But, in addition to the results, the main problems during this period have been road safety, conflicts between citizens for various reasons, cases of domestic violence, as well as the cultivation of narcotic plants in various areas of the district.

To address these issues, Police services have increased monitoring, controls, and field presence, with the aim of identifying and punishing any violations.

Finally, the fight against the cultivation of narcotic plants remains a challenge. For this reason, field controls, drone monitoring, and investigative actions have been intensified throughout the territory of the region.

In conclusion, on behalf of all Tirana Police structures, I want to assure citizens that we remain maximally committed to preventing and combating any illegality, as well as to guaranteeing public order, security and tranquility.

At the same time, we assure citizens, vacationers and tourists that the Border Police, Criminal Police, Traffic Police, the "Eagle" Special Force and General Patrols continue to be on the ground 24 hours a day, to guarantee security in every area of ??the district and to react quickly to any situation that requires our intervention.

I would like to make a special appeal to citizens, tourist operators and any entity that carries out activities during the summer season, to respect the law and safety standards, as any violation that threatens the life, health or safety of citizens will be treated with maximum seriousness and in accordance with the law.

I also invite citizens and the media to continue their cooperation with the State Police, by reporting any case of illegality or situation that violates public safety. I guarantee that any information, complaint or call will be treated immediately with professionalism, responsibility and seriousness, in the interest of citizen safety and public interest.

CRIMES IN THE FIELD OF CUSTOMS

"Smuggling of other goods" provided for by Article 174 of the Criminal Code, 5 criminal offenses have been identified, 5 discovered, with 5 perpetrators, 5 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted at large. (Suspected contraband goods (jewelry and clothing) seized.

"Failure to declare money and valuables at the border" provided for by Article 179/ai of the Penal Code, 7 criminal offenses have been identified, 7 have been discovered, with 8 perpetrators, 8 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted at large. Seized an amount of 59,060 euros, 48,700 pounds, 20,260 USD and 10,000 new lek.

"Hiding income" provided for by Article 180/ai of the Criminal Code, 2 criminal offenses have been identified, 2 detected with 2 perpetrators and 2 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted while at large.

CRIMES AGAINST STATE BORDERS:

"Forgery of identity cards, passports or visas", provided for by Article 189 of the Criminal Code, 5 criminal offenses have been identified, 5 detected with 5 perpetrators, where 2 perpetrators have been arrested in flagrante delicto and 3 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted at large, (3 passports and 4 identity cards have been seized as material evidence, these documents suspected of being forged)

"Illegal border crossing" provided for by Article 297 of the Criminal Code, 10 criminal offenses have been identified, 10 detected with 10 perpetrators, and 10 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted while at large.

OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENCES:

"Unauthorized production and possession of combat ammunition" provided for by article 278/2 of the Criminal Code, 1 criminal offense has been identified, 1 detected with 1 perpetrator, where 1 perpetrator has been criminally prosecuted at large. (3 cartridges seized).

"Opposition of an employee performing a state duty or a public service" and "Disturbance of public peace", provided for by articles 235 and 274 of the Criminal Code, 3 criminal offenses have been identified, 3 detected with 3 perpetrators, where 3 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted while at large.

"Other intentional damage", provided for by Article 90 of the Criminal Code, 1 criminal offense has been identified, 1 detected with 2 perpetrators, where 2 perpetrators have been criminally prosecuted while at large.

Also during this period, a very important focus of the structures of the Local Directorate for Border and Migration in Tirana has been foreign citizens who have applied to be provided with a residence permit and a unique permit, where it is worth noting that during May 2026, 1716 online applications for a residence/unique permit were registered through the e-Albania system, with an increase of 23% more than May 2025, in this regard, thanks to changes in VKM 858 as well as instruction No. 95 dated 06.05.2026 of the Minister of Internal Affairs "On the procedures for issuing, refusing to issue, renewing or canceling a residence permit and a unique permit for foreigners", changes and improvements to the e-Albania system, the processing time and approval of a residence/unique permit for foreign citizens has been significantly reduced, it is worth noting that The foreign citizen is provided with a provisional permit within 24 hours after entering the territory of the Republic of Albania.

In the field of irregular migration, 36 cases were handled, including 36 foreign citizens found to be irregular in the territory, who at the end of the procedure based on Law 79/2021 "On Foreigners" were treated with;

- voluntary departure order for 15 citizens,

- eviction order 10 shekels

- detention order at the Karreç Foreigners' Center for 11 citizens.

People wanted.

During the month of MAY 2026, 38 (thirty-eight) wanted/reported persons were apprehended at the border, of whom 30 (thirty) were nationally wanted citizens and 8 (eight) were internationally wanted citizens (where 6 citizens were arrested for extradition purposes).

Administrative measures.

With the increase in the flow of movement, the structures of the Local Directorate for Border and Migration in Tirana have also increased their attention to identifying administrative violations of the law "On the control and surveillance of the state border" and the law "On Foreigners", where during this month 115 cases of administrative violations were found, which were treated with administrative measures.