Turkey holds Albanian diplomat in heroin bust

An Albanian diplomat has been detained in Turkey on charges of trafficking drugs, authorities said on Friday, confirming reports he was arrested while carrying 65 kg (143 lb) of heroin.

The arrest of Agim Haxhiu, second secretary of the Albanian embassy in Macedonia, is the country's second recent diplomatic drug embarrassment after an embassy driver was arrested in Italy with a kilogram of cocaine last year. "Istanbul police notified us by fax that citizen Agim Haxhiu has been detained on the charge of 'trading narcotic substances,'" the Albanian foreign ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)