On the Good Friday evening, the Catholic faithfuls gathered for a solemn, candlelight procession led by the Archbishop of the Diocese of Tirana-Durres Arjan Dodaj.

In his speech, Dodaj said that, “Today, we stand united with all victims of bombing, regardless of nationality or faith.”

During the ceremony, the believers honor the passion, crucifixion, and glorious resurrection of Jesus from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

After the liturgical service in Mother Teresa Square, Catholic believers proceeded to St. Paul’s Cathedral in the capital. /e.i/p.s./

At the conference “From Illicit Gains to Public Good: The Future of Confiscated Assets”, attended by heads of law enforcement agencies, experts and representatives of local institutions and organizations, Minister Hoxha made an expose of the situation, underlining that the fight against crime is successful only when assets that come as a result of a criminal activity are confiscated.

In this context, he praised the work being done by the Agency for the Administration of Sequestered and Confiscated Assets.

The purpose of this conference is to exchange experiences with foreign authorities, on the most efficient way of reusing assets with criminal sources, so that they can be put at the service of the public.

Minister Hoxha stated that, “The final goal is the good administration of such an asset, which means its return to the public service.”

Speaking about the work of the Agency, Hoxha said that it has the support of the Ministry of Interior, the Police and other law enforcement structures.

He also spoke about the challenges that this agency faces.

“In order for the Agency to be efficient and as far away from the underground pressure exerted by organized crime as possible, there is a necessary need for the support of the Police,” said the Minister of Interior.

Mentioning some of the results achieved by the Agency, Hoxha stated that, “There are a considerable number of buildings or premises that have been confiscated and put at the service of the public. Even the Agency itself functions today in confiscated offices. Our goal is for the confiscated assets to maintain their value and possibly increase in value so that they can be registered as material goods at the service of citizens”.

Attending the conference, there were the representatives of institutions and experts from Italy, Romania and other countries with experience in confiscating criminal assets and reusing them for the benefit of the public. /j.p/p.s./