Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha has served as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania since 2022. He has previously held the position of Chairman from 1990 to 1992 and 1997 to 2013. He is the leader of opposition in Albania.
Azem Shpend Hajdari was the leader of the student movement in 1990–1991 that led to the fall of communism in Albania. He then became a politician of the Democratic Party of Albania (DP). He symbolizes the start of the democratic era in Albania. He was a member of the Albanian parliament and the Chairman of the Defence Parliamentary Commission. He was shot to death in Tirana on September 12,1998 at age 35.
Roger Christie is an American ordained minister in the Religion of Jesus Church,which regards marijuana as a "sacramental herb." In 2000,he founded the THC Ministry,which offered cannabis as a part of its services. On July 8,2010,Christie and 13 other individuals associated with the THC Ministry were indicted by a Federal grand jury in Honolulu on marijuana possession and trafficking charges. On Sept. 27,2013,Christie pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking and two counts of failing to file income tax returns. On April 28,2014,Christie was sentenced to a term of five years in federal prison,with credit for time already served at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center.
Milton Orkopoulos is an Australian convicted sex offender and former politician. A member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2006,Orkopoulos was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship in August 2005.
Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe,North America,South America,and various other parts of the world including the Middle East and Asia. The Albanian mafia participates in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including trafficking in drugs,arms,and humans. Due to their close ties with the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria,they control a large part of the billion dollar wholesale cocaine market in Europe and appear to be the primary distributors of cocaine in various European drug hubs including London. Albanian organized crime is characterized by diversified criminal enterprises which,in their complexity,demonstrate a very high criminal capacity. In Albania,there are over 15 mafia families that control organized crime.
Choo Han Teck is a Singaporean judge of the Supreme Court. He was formerly a lawyer before his appointment to the court as a judge. It was revealed in 2021 that Choo was one of the defence lawyers representing Adrian Lim,the infamous Toa Payoh child killer who was executed in 1988 for charges of murdering a girl and boy as ritual sacrifices. In 1994,Choo also defended Phua Soy Boon,a jobless Singaporean who was hanged in 1995 for killing a moneylender.
In 1991,the Socialist Party of Albania,with specific social democratic ideology took control of the country through democratic elections. One year later the Democratic Party of Albania won the new elections. After 1990,Albania has been seeking a closer relationship with the West. What followed were deliberate programs of economic and democratic reform,but the implementation of capitalism led to the proliferation of pyramid schemes. Chaos in late 1996 to early 1997,as a result of the collapse of these pyramid schemes,alarmed the world and prompted the influx of international peacekeeping forces. In 1995,Albania was accepted into the Council of Europe and requested membership in NATO and is a potential candidate country for accession to the European Union. The workforce of Albania has continued to emigrate to Western countries,especially Greece and Italy.
Lazarat is a village in Gjirokastër County,in southern Albania. It is located in the Dropull valley. Formerly functioning as a municipality,as part of the 2015 local government reform,it became a subdivision of the municipality of Gjirokastër. The former municipality consisted of the villages Lazarat and Kordhocë.
Dritan Dajti is a notorious mobster from Albania who was the Boss Of The Kavaje Street boys gang In Tirana from 2003-2009. He is mostly known for the brutal murder of four police officers August 7,2009 during an operation to arrest him in Durrës. The incident marked one of the deadliest confrontations between law enforcement and organized crime in the country’s history.
Nasip Naço is an Albanian politician and is a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania for the Socialist Movement for Integration,former Minister of Economy,Trade and Energy in the cabinet of Sali Berisha. He replaces Ilir Meta,who resigned over allegations of corruption. Almost,now Nasip Naco is replaces from Edmond Haxhinasto.
Flamur Noka is an Albanian politician,currently serving as the General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Albania. Born and raised in Kukës,in Albania's northern border with Kosovo,Noka joined the Democratic Party in the early 2000s,and quickly started climbing the ranks. From 2012 to 2013,he was Albania's Minister of the Interior.
Evelin Banev,also known by his nickname Brendo is a real estate developer,published writer,and former wrestler who has been convicted of money laundering and drug trafficking.
The Kettle Falls Five is a name given to five defendants who were charged with 5 violations of federal law including growing,cultivating and distributing cannabis and firearms charges at their 33-acre property near the town of Kettle Falls in eastern Washington. This prosecution was done despite the defendants adherence to Washington State law allowing the growing of cannabis for medical use. One of the defendants,cancer patient Larry Harvey,was not permitted to argue his medical need for the plant in court. Despite this handicap,the defendants were acquitted of 4 out of 5 counts in federal court in Spokane,Washington on March 3,2015.
Adriatik Llalla is an Albanian lawyer. He served as the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Albania from 2012 to 2017. During the years 2008 to 2012 he was Inspector General of the "High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflict of Interest",(HIDAACI).
The 2017 Albanian opposition protests were a series of anti-government protests,largely in Tirana,which centered around poverty,corruption,the illicit drug situation in Albania,fear of electoral fraud in the parliamentary elections,and alleged manipulation of the voting process by the government.
In Albania,the Prosecutor General(Albanian:Prokurori i Përgjithshëm) is the highest judicial authority exercising the criminal prosecution of entities or individuals and representing the accusation in court on behalf of the state. They are also responsible for carrying out a series of other duties assigned by law to the prosecution. Its powers are defined by the Constitution of 1998 as amended in 2016 by the law "On the Organization and Functioning of Institutions for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime."
Cannabis in Brunei is illegal and can be punishable by caning or the death penalty. Brunei Darussalam's legislation is controlled by its sultan and is based on the country's Sharia-Islamic beliefs. In accordance with these laws,Brunei native,Lam Ming Hwa,received the death sentence in 2004 and a Malaysian native,Muhammad Mustaqim Mustofa bin Abdullah,was sentenced to death in 2017.
Starting from 16 February 2019,the opposition parties organized a series of protests and rallies against the government to demand new elections and the formation of a technocrat government that would ensure the fairness of the electoral process,citing electoral fraud and corruption in the government as the main reasons for the need for change.
Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime,SPAK is an independent judicial entity tasked with investigating corruption and organized crime at the highest levels of government and society in Albania. It consists of the National Bureau of Investigation,the Special Prosecution and the Special Courts. Τhe legal basis of the entity is Article 148/dh of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Law No. 95/2016 "On the organization and functioning of institutions for the fight against corruption and organized crime".
On 16 June 2014,around 800 heavily armed Albanian police officers began a large scale raid in the mountain village of Lazarat,targeting cannabis growers,as part of a nation-wide operation to quell illegal cannabis plantations. Armed drug gang members responded with fire from automatic rifles,RPG-7s and mortars. After a four-day siege,the police captured Lazarat and its surrounding fields. Fourteen villagers and mafiosos were arrested. No fatalities were reported. Following the capture of the village,the police destroyed around 91,000 cannabis plants.
