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Albanian Policeman Arrested for Aiding Fugitive
Tirana | 24 November 2009 |
Maringlen Muca, was arrested on Thursday by Prosecutors of the Serious Crimes office in Tirana, charged with aiding while on the run, Dritan Dajti, a gangster that had eluded arrest for six years after a daring courtroom escape. Muca has denied the charges in front of the prosecutor, saying he is innocent. .
Dajti was arrested on 2 August in the port town of Durres after a shootout that left four police officers and one of his accomplices dead.
Albania has not seen this number of police deaths in a single incident since 1997, when the country descended into anarchy after the collapse of a series of pyramid-like investment schemes.
The high death toll raised suspicions that Dajti was tipped off before the officers moved in to make the arrest.
During his time on the run, Dajti is suspected of having been involved in paid murders and drug trafficking, and of running a racketeering ring.
While debate raged over the reasons why Dajti eluded capture for so long, Balkan Insight reported on August 20 that it was not just that he managed to operate undisturbed in and around Tirana, but he also met several times with an investigative reporter probing his criminal activities.
Dajti’s had formerly escaped from the Tirana District Court in 2003, while being tried for the murder of a local businessman, a crime for which he later was sentenced in absentia with 25-years in prison.
