Today the new Minister of Interior Affairs Fatmir Xhafaj presented together with Prime Minister Edi Rama his priorities for the few months that he has left in office.
During an activity of the directors of the police forces, Minister Xhafaj stressed that the main focus of the Ministry and the police will be the battle against cannabis and the organization of the elections on June 18.
As regards to the battle against cannabis, Minister Xhafaj stated that his “challenge is to remove Albania once and for all from the list of countries that cultivate cannabis.”
Even though not a single high-level drugs boss has been arrested during the period his predecessor Saimir Tahiri was in office, he declared to “make no compromise”:
There will be punishment for each cannabis plant that is planted, and this punishment will not be only for those who plant it, but also for those who allow it and don’t fight it, becoming partners in crime.
He also announced that the police itself will be “vetted”:
The time has come to also do the vetting of the police. Zero tolerance toward those who violate the law on duty as police officers.
About the role of the police during the elections, which has openly been called into question by the opposition after the police forces openly sided with and expressed their support for former Minister Tahiri, Minister Xhafaj declared that it was his “priority” that “each action will be taken within the framework of the pre-election and election process.”
Any inclusion or other role of the police and its structures that surpasses the competences determined by the law will be severely punished.
