Two other doctors arrested

The nurse in charge, Arentina Arifaj and the pharmacist Margarita Kola were reported on power abuse charges. They’re accused of stealing pricy medicaments for serious illnesses, such as cytostatic drugs used in chemotherapy.  

The Prosecutor Julian Xhengo says that they have made a control at the Oncological Hospital, concluding it by separating 153 patient charts, 68 of which came from the chemotherapy pavilion.

The investigations resulted with differences among the cytostatic drugs that had circulated in the pharmacy, with a value of 1 million ALL. Top Channel has secured the Prosecution’s request to court, which states that the defendant Arenita Arifaj has violated the protocol by taking in her possession a considerable number of clinical charts and registers, in order to avoid investigation. The documentation was taken as proof only after a police intervention.

Experts say that the Pharmacist Margarita Kola has released drugs with a value of 1.4 million ALL more than the medicines inscribed in the charts. Pharmacist Hysni Bajrami is also under investigation for abusing with expensive drugs, while three other doctors are being investigated for not reporting a crime and theft.

Prison for doctors caught stealing drugs

The Court of Tirana gave the arrest measure for the two persons who were arrested this Friday at the Tirana University Hospital Center over active corruption charges.

The Court decided that the oncologist Dr. Nikolle Koleci and his collaborator will stay in prison, while the pharmacist Jetmira Koleci, the wife of Nikolle, will stay in house arrest.

The operation of the Task Force and the Economic Crime Department in Tirana kept the doctor under surveillance for many weeks, who collaborated with his wife, Jetmira Koleci, for stealing the medications of the hospital and sell them at the drug stores near the Hospital. In these drug stores they obliged patients to buy medicaments they were entitled to take for free.

During a press release, the director of Tirana Police, Sajmir Muca, declared that the medication was caught in the luggage of a car, after the couple’s activity had been under surveillance. The amount of stolen medication in one single day was 80.000 ALL. But in total, according to the Director of Drug Control, the total sum might be at around 3 million ALL. According to him, the drugs are easily recognizable, because they have two stamps, one that says “Hospital Service” and the other “not allowed to be sold”.

We will make all verifications for when these drugs have been sold, and all other collaborators will be discovered”, declared the director of the Drug Center, Besnkik Jaku.

The official explained that they will make a more detailed control in all pharmacies, and that the report for the case in question was made by this center.

“We have given all information to the police structures, and our cooperation with them has been correct”, Jaku declared.

The director of the Hospital Center “Mother Teresa”, Saimir Ivziku, warned other arrests.

 “We will be very strict with anyone who will touch the hospital’s medications, starting with suspensions and even criminal prosecution”, Ivziku declared.

Police found at the garage of the arrested couple a considerable amount of medication which was kept in inappropriate conditions.

Top Channel