Police have brought an Albanian village known as "cannabis kingdom" under their control after a five-day siege netting more than 25 tonnes of marijuana and dozens of heavy weapons.
Launched on Monday, the siege of Lazarat was the first major operation in a decade to crack down on a village considered a safe haven for drug producers and traffickers.
After an armed stand-off that left a policeman and two civilians injured, the village 240 kilometres south of Tirana is now under police control, a police spokeswoman said on Friday.
"At least 26 tonnes of marijuana were seized and more than 90,000 cannabis plants were destroyed during the five-day long operation," spokeswoman Laura Totraku said.
"Four laboratories including two for cannabis oil production were found."
At least six people were arrested in the operation to destroy Lazarat's huge drugs stockpile.
About 800 police officers backed by armoured vehicles had been deployed, repeatedly coming under fire, including from anti-tank missiles, mortars and grenades.
Dozens of automatic weapons and a large quantity of ammunition were seized.
Albania's prosecution is compiling a list of at least 50 people suspected of being chief organisers of cannabis production and sale in the village, officials said.
Police units were still searching homes and fields in Lazaret, home to some 2200 people, Totraku added.
Witnesses said many villagers had burned cannabis plants to destroy evidence before fleeing.
Lazarat produces about 900 tonnes of cannabis annually, according to police, worth approximately 4.5 billion euros ($A6.60 billion) - equivalent to almost half of Albania's gross domestic product.
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