At the recent customs forum, border security, customs officials and international organizations convened to address emerging challenges in firearms and ammunition trafficking. Participants focused on actionable strategies to enhance regional cooperation against illicit arms trade.

Representatives of the Albanian Customs shared the administration’s expertise in strengthening customs controls, optimizing risk management and fostering institutional collaboration to improve border security.

According to the Customs Administration, regional forums serve as a platform to share best practices and coordinate institutional efforts to combat illegal trafficking.

The meeting took place within the framework of joint regional efforts to strengthen security and fight cross-border organized crime. /e.xh/j.p/p.s./

The police said that the security guard, 60, lost his life during the shooting.

The police also said in a press release that it has set up an investigative group under direction of the Prosecutor’s Office to clarify the circumstances of the event, gather evidence that will serve to identify and capture the perpetrators.

The Police has set up checkpoints in some roads in an effort to catch the perpetrators./p.s./

The meeting focused on increase of co-operation on control of trafficking and the illegal use of firearms in Southeast Europe, the region and beyond, based on full implementation of the EU firearms trafficking action plan for 2020 – 2025.

During his speech, Çuçi underlined the work done by the Albanian government in this field, both in legal terms, with the drafting of some special laws that address the phenomenon, or with the concrete work of the police and law enforcement agencies in detecting, apprehending and punishing before the law of citizens who traffic or possess firearms illegally.

Regarding the regulatory framework, Çuçi stressed that the government has approved three important laws, on firearms, explosives and pyrotechnics.

He also said that some provisions of the Criminal Code on firearms trafficking are being revised, in order to include any kind of criminal activity related to weapons, to avoid any possibility of abuse or impunity.

The minister stated that the disarmament of the population and the removal of weapons from the hands of those who do not have the legal right to keep them, is among the main priorities of the Ministry of Interior, as this phenomenon (i.e. illegal possession of firearms) affects directly in all forms of criminality.

The minister informed that all firearms that are legally possessed by Albanian citizens, are already being registered according to the SIMA system, a computerized system. Under this program, about 70% of all firearms have already been registered.

Speaking on the priorities during 2021, he added that the aim is to fully complete the process of registration of hunting weapons in the SIMA system. “Within 2021, Albania will approve the new Action Plan for implementation of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Strategy for the years 2022 – 2024”, he said.

The Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson thanked Albania for the adoption of the law on firearms, as a law in full compliance with EU aqui, the first country in the region to adopt this law./p.s./