The Minister of Internal Affairs, Albana Koçiu, has reacted following media reports about the dismissal of Deputy Minister Andi Mahila, confirming the news through a social media post.

She explained that the decision to remove him from office came after a complaint from an Albanian citizen living in New York. According to the report, Deputy Minister Mahila had smoked a cigarette inside a restaurant during a visit to the United States, causing discomfort to those present.

“I received a complaint from one of our compatriots in New York, who, together with his family, had experienced discomfort due to the fact that the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs was smoking in a restaurant. I carried out the necessary verification and informed the Deputy Minister of his dismissal,” Koçiu wrote.

The Minister emphasized that such an action cannot be considered an innocent mistake, but rather a clear violation of the law.

“Anyone can make an unintentional mistake, and that can be understood. But smoking inside a restaurant is not an unintentional mistake—it is an unjustifiable violation of the law. Even more so for a leader of an institution such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” she said.