The police arrested a 30-year-old man at Rinas airport for trafficking migrants. The young man invited foreign citizens to Albania to hire them as football players and then helped them illegally cross the border towards EU countries. 9 foreign citizens who had come to Albania were also prosecuted. 

The investigation showed that the 30-year-old, in collaboration with several others, provided fictitious invitations to foreign nationals, mainly from the Ivory Coast, with the intention of hiring them and then helping them agianst profit, to leave Albania towards EU countries. 

"The Illegal Traffic Investigation Specialists of DVP Tirana, in cooperation with the Rinas Border Police Commissariat, following the work to prevent and attack the illegal activity of providing assistance to foreign citizens, for illegal border crossing with EU countries through the transit in the Albanian territory, based on the information provided by the information intelligence, they have hit a case of this criminal activity, within the coded police operation "Contract". 

As a result of this operation, citizen E. G., 30 years old, resident in Tirana, was arrested in the act. 

From the conducted investigations, it has emerged that the citizen E.G., in collaboration with still unidentified persons, provided fictitious invitations for foreign citizens, mainly from the Ivory Coast, to come to Albania, with the claim for employment purposes. After the foreign citizens came to Albania, the 30-year-old helped them, against the profit, to leave Albania illegally towards EU countries. 

Following the actions, the materials were referred to the Prosecutor's Office and criminal proceedings were initiated against the 9 foreign citizens for illegal border crossing. 

Work continues to identify other persons involved in this criminal activity. The materials were passed to the Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance of Tirana General Jurisdiction, for further actions," the police said.