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Albanian police hit with grenades during cannabis crackdown Grenades fired at Albanian police during cannabis crackdown
(about 4 hours later)
Authorities say suspected gang members have fired rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns at hundreds of police officers who tried to enter a village in southern Albania as part of a crackdown on marijuana production. Hundreds of police stormed a village in southern Albania after suspected marijuana growers allegedly fired rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns at officers during a raid.
Police said nobody was hurt in the pre-dawn attack on Monday outside Lazarat, where authorities believe gangs produce about 900 metric tonnes of cannabis a year. The drug production is estimated to be worth about €4.5bn (£3.6bn) – roughly half the country's GDP. Police said no one was hurt in the clashes in and around Lazarat. A spokeswoman said officers managed to take control of the village of 5,000 people after exchanging fire with a nearly 30 armed men hiding in a four-storey building complex.
They said about 500 lightly armed police, including special forces officers, surrounded the village overnight after a smaller force was repelled over the weekend by small arms fire that injured one villager. The spokeswoman said the gunmen fled Lazarat and were heading for a nearby mountain, pursued by police. However, more than three hours later, sporadic gunfire was still heard in the village. Authorities advised residents to stay at home, while scores of police in body armour guarded the entrances to Lazarat. The interior minister, Saimir Tahiri, urged the gunmen to disarm and surrender.
Police said they would continue the crackdown on drug producers to "liberate Lazarat from criminals". Gangs based in Lazarat are believed to produce about 900 metric tons of cannabis a year, worth about €4.5bn (£4bn) – roughly half of the small Balkan country's GDP.
Around 500 lightly armed police, including special forces officers and the country's police chief, surrounded the village overnight after a smaller force was repelled over the weekend by small-arms fire that injured one villager.
Albania's private A1 channel said its TV crew covering the Lazarat operation was robbed at gunpoint by masked men who burnt their vehicle.
Over the past few weeks, Albanian authorities have launched a nationwide operation to uproot cannabis plantations. Marijuana-growing gangs in the village have long seen themselves as beyond the reach of the law. In 2004, shots from the village forced an Italian drug-spotting helicopter to make a hasty retreat.