
A ship that was transporting 22,500 tons of contraband oil from Russia to Albania has been blocked in Durrës.
As part of the operation, a ship with the flag of Liberia was blocked, which was transporting the amount of oil with forged documentation, which was to be smuggled to Albania.
Police notification:
Durres
The coded police operation "Embargo" is developed, based on police intelligence.
The operation is ongoing, to attack the introduction of contraband oil coming from Russia into Albania.
A ship carrying 22,500 tons of oil is blocked.
In the operation, the Local Directorate of the Durrës Police, the Directorate for the Investigation of Economic and Financial Crime in the Criminal Police Department of the State Police, the Border Police of the Port of Durrës, the Anti-Smuggling Directorate, the customs authorities of the port, the coast guard and the Captaincy of the Port of Durrës, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office at the Durrës Judicial District Court.
The police structures operating in Durres, especially the Section for Economic and Financial Crime in DVP Durres, following successive operations carried out in recent months, with the aim of cracking down on oil smuggling coming from Libya and other countries, have continuously ensured , through intelligence, information about a Liberian-flagged ship that would be smuggling a very large amount of oil.
Based on this information, the police operation coded "Embargo" was organized and is ongoing, in the framework of which a Liberian-flagged ship was blocked, which was transporting 22,500 tons of oil, with forged documentation, that was to be smuggled to Albania. .
From the first investigative actions, it is suspected that this oil shipment was taken from countries with an oil embargo, specifically from Russia. The vessel had departed from Azerbaijan and it is alleged that it was then loaded with oil at the port of Kallamata, Greece, from another vessel, in the amount of 22,500 tonnes of diesel fuel.
Following the actions, based on reasonable suspicions that this amount of oil originated from the embargoed countries and was smuggled, since no proper documentation was available, it was seized and the captain's navigation documentation, as well as the blocking of the crew, which consisted of 22 citizens, for carrying out further procedural actions.
The investigation group, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office, is continuing the in-depth investigations, with the aim of documenting this illegal activity as fully as possible and to identify the citizens involved in this activity, as natural or legal persons.