Dubai: Police in Albania are questioning a driver who was allegedly caught trying to conceal eight guns inside a food basket intended for a family in the UK.

According to The Telegraph, the 34-year-old denied any knowledge of or involvement with the brand-new Glock pistols and ammunition that were discovered by police at the port of Durres on the Albanian coast on Monday night. He was also said to be driving a van with UK licence plates.

The Mercedes Benz van was about to board a ferry bound for the Italian city of Ancona when the weapons were found. According to Albanian police, the food basket was supposed to be delivered to a family in Luton, Bedfordshire, which was the driver's ultimate destination.

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Police searched the car after being notified by security scanners, and they found the pistols there. The driver, who is from Tirana, reportedly claimed that an Albanian man he had never met before approached him with "a box saying he needed it to be delivered to a relative in the UK," according to local media. According to the driver's account to police, the package had two phone numbers for the recipient written on it.

It's imperative that we track down the other parties involved in this, a police source said. The driver currently disputes knowing about the guns in his car, according to our interviewing.

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The investigation, according to state police, is still ongoing and involves numerous law enforcement agencies.

The British government has been forced to step up security, especially at Durres port, which UK and Albanian authorities identified in 2022 as a particular potential source of smuggling. Albanian gangsters have been attempting to smuggle weapons into the UK through ports.

The UK's Border Force intended to send agents to Albania, according to leaked police emails, to assist with the investigation of proposals for the port's expansion and to provide advice on security measures to thwart illegal immigration and the importation of cocaine into Europe by organised crime gangs.

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According to the documents, the force's role would be to assess container traffic, roll-on/roll-off passenger traffic, port and law enforcement information technology systems, and current operational capabilities at the Albanian ports of Durres and Porto Romano.