Police come under fire in Albanian drug village

Police come under fire in Albanian drug village

The police sources said that early on Tuesday five armored vehicles were sent in the direction of this "renegade village," where the situation remains tense.

A total of 800 police officers are "making progress from house to house to take control of the situation, while the shooting did not stop today," said the reports.

The Albanian police added their special forces sent to Lazarat encountered resistance from "heavy weapons, anti-tank missiles, machine guns and mortars."

Albanian Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said the police "declared war on mafia and crime," and would not "give up" when it came to Lazarat.

He asked the inhabitants of this village to "distance themselves from criminals," and urged those attacking the police to disarm and surrender.

The raid on Sunday came ten years after the first attempt to take control of Lazarat, "and just days after the EU decided to make Albania a candidate for membership," according to the Beta news agency.

However, just like on August 19, 2004, the police faced "gunfire from all types of weapons" when they entered the village known around the world for its production of cannabis.

Lazaret is referred as "a marijuana factory" with an annual production of about 900 tons of cannabis and annual "exports" of drugs in the market value of EUR 4.5 billion - half of Albania's GDP, the AP noted in its report.