Italian and Albanian police on Wednesday arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a criminal gang that allegedly trafficked drugs between Italy and Albania.
The arrests were made during the 'Enigma' operation carried out in northern and central Italy and in Albania, police said.
In Italy, police raids took place in the northeastern Veneto region, the northern Trentino-Alto Adige and Emilia Romagna regions and the central Umbria region.
The operation followed an investigation by Italian tax police ordered by prosecutors in the lagoon city of Venice working in close cooperation with Albanian police and judicial authorities.
On Tuesday, police arrested a 34-year-old unemployed Tunisian in Fiesso d' Artico in the province of Venice on suspicion of drug dealing in the Veneto's Riviera del Brento and seized a "large quantity" of heroin from the apartment where he was staying as well as hashish, several mobile phones and an iPad.
It was not clear if the Tunisian's arrest was linked to Wednesday's 'Enigma' operation.
