Albanian police seize 4 tons of cannabis and arrest 3

TIRANA, Albania – Albanian authorities say they have arrested three people while seizing four metric tons of cannabis.

Rebani Jaupi, a senior police official, said on Thursday that four tons of drugs were seized at a house in Vlore, 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of the capital, Tirana.

In a statement, the prosecutor-general’s office said the “considerable” haul followed a yearlong investigation and was related to the recent arrest of drug traffickers in nearby Italy.

Albanian authorities have this year made a series of seizures of cannabis in remote areas, along the coast, or on speedboats. The cannabis is usually smuggled to neighbouring Greece and Italy.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has pledged to get Albania off the list of cannabis-producing countries by the end of this year.