The Minister of the Interior, Taulant Balla , from Shkodra has said that the time of the strong in the northern city is over.
During his speech, Balla stated that there are 247 people wanted in Shkodër as he added that they are focused on this list to go to each one of them one by one, while for some of them he said that they continue to be and hide. at Shkoder.
Balla said that there can be neither a neighborhood nor an area where the police cannot intervene or exercise the rule of law and its force.
Minister Balla : Shkodra has a number of problems related to the performance of the Police. I want to say from the first moment that one of our most important challenges remains the control of the territory and the fight against any criminal phenomenon or informality. I believe that you also agree that one of the phenomena that the work of the State Police has carried in the face of informality and criminality is related to the fight against the cultivation of narcotic plants.
Two out of three narcotic plants destroyed by the State Police in 2023 are in Shkodra, so out of 300 thousand narcotics, 200 thousand of them were destroyed in Shkodra. The year 2024 will be the consolidation of these results to guarantee clean Alps, which will be a tourist destination, but will no longer be a destination for criminal groups to cultivate narcotic plants, and through this activity to supply or finance their activities criminal.
Regarding the city of Shkodra, I know very well who my duty is and that of the State Police, to guarantee a peaceful Shkodra with guaranteed public safety. To prevent as many criminal activities as possible, but also serious crimes against the person. This is also a consequence of the fact that serious crimes that have occurred over the years have not been detected in time. We have 247 people in search in Shkodër. Today we focused on this list to go one by one to each of them, some of them continue to be and hide here in Shkodër.
The duty of the State Police, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, with the Shkoder General Jurisdiction Prosecutor's Office, with SHISH, is to find them and bring them to justice. The time when in the fort of Shkodër they had their own bajraks, their own fiefdoms, where the police could not enter, is over. I was very clear in my order to the DVP to put an end to this story, so here there can be neither a neighborhood nor an area where the police cannot intervene or exercise the rule of law and their own strength.
This is a primary duty and I want to guarantee every citizen of Shkodra, the entrepreneurs of Shkodra, who have suffered problems of "tributes", the stories of which you know better than me. This can no longer be tolerated, therefore one of my objectives and that of the State Police is to put an end to the history of the "strong", the "Bajraq", the "feuds".
In the meantime, we are continuing to consolidate our preventive force against any form of criminality. Illegal gambling remains another challenge we are operating against. We had results that were part of the evaluation in this analysis.
Also, another issue is related to the role of the Border Directorate. I want the lake of Shkodra to be no longer mentioned for the criminal activities of certain persons, of illegal fishing, but to be a beautiful tourist destination, where all those who decide to choose Shkodra, and I strongly recommend it.
I came to Shkodër a few days ago. I am here again today and the truth is that Shkodra is already being reborn, in a way, of its touristic offer. But we must ensure that these old stories of abuses and disobedience to the law end.