On Monday, Kosovo’s state prosecutor announced the arrest of 48 police officers and two customs officers suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for allowing illegal goods into the country. The officers detained were working at border crossings with Albania in the country’s southwest.
“Those arrested are suspected of being involved in over 400 cases of bribery and abuse of official duty,” Kushtrim Hodaj of the Police Inspectorate said during a press conference with the state prosecutor.
Hodaj said that another 18 people remain at large and they are accused of offering bribes. He said they are mainly citizens from Albania and now Kosovo is seeking information from authorities in Tirana.
In a similar operation in 2016 the small Balkan country arrested around 60 police officers following a four-month corruption investigation after drivers filed complaints about traffic police asking them for bribes. Graft and organized crime have been cited as the main obstacles for the Balkan country in attracting foreign investment.