On Monday, Albanian police and other law enforcement agencies stopped a Liberian-registered ship in the city of Durres. The ship was thought to be carrying oil from Russia.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 22 crew members, the authorities said. The market value of 22,500 tons of seized oil is estimated at more than 40 million euros.
Police reported that the vessel had sailed from Azerbaijan and claimed that it had been loaded with oil in Kalamata, Greece, from another vessel.
The alibi wasn’t enough to convince the authorities in Albania, who were sure that the oil came from Russia. Albania has supported EU and Western sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine.
This is not the first case of oil trafficking in Albania. Over the past few years, several ships have tried to deliver Libyan oil to Albania.