“Secret Service members tied with crime?”
19/09/2011 23:00
The Washington Agreement Must Be Reactivated! 06/01 19:04
The US embassy has closed the last days of the year 2007 by sending a
cable to Washington in which they cast shadows of doubt on a possible
infiltration of organized crime elements at the Albanian Secret Service.
The cable of 31 December 2007, categorized as “secret”, says that “there are several incidents where investigations on OC have stalled due to unknown circumstances or have not turned up evidence that was suspected, suggesting that there may be some low-level penetration of the SHISH by OC elements, but we are unable to detect any suggestions of this above low levels.”
The report doesn’t say when the investigations have failed and what cases were they addressing to.
By analyzing the relations of Prime Minister Berisha with “SHISH”, the US Embassy has noted that the Prime Minister Berisha and the current head of SHISH, Bahri Shaqiri, are reported as people who do not communicate with each other, but regardless, after the return of the ruling Democratic Party reports that at least two DP militants have been hired as SHISH workers.
“Known militants of the governing Democratic Party (DP) with direct ties to the Prime Minister were appointed as the current SHISH Chief of Personnel and in the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The Personnel Chief has orchestrated certain appointments and hirings that do not meet SHISH’s professional development goals, although Director Shaqiri theoretically has the final decision on all hiring.”
On-going financial cuts, recently drastic in nature, have inhibited SHISH’s ability to conduct its work and are perceived by some in the agency as an attempt to influence its behavior. Despite these challenges, there is little evidence that the majority of SHISH personnel have succumbed to specific political influence.
The cable says that the SHISH has made excellent progress against organized crime (OC) targets but is hampered by legal constraints, chiefly Albania’s broad legal immunity for government officials. The SHISH is aggressive in targeting organized crime suspects, but many times must cease investigations that are tied to officials with immunity.
The cable closes with this statement:
“Both SHISH and SHIU are excellent partners with the USG. There is close cooperation on all intelligence activities including OC, Kosovo and other issues of regional stability, and on counterterrorism.”
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