Santa gangs rob jewellery shops in Albania, Kosovo

TIRANA – Four armed men dressed as Santa robbed a jewelry shop in a Tirana mall, police said Thursday while another “Santa gang” injured two people during a robbery in neighboring Kosovo.

The four thieves, armed with automatic weapons, burst into the Tirana shop on Tuesday, threatening the owner at gunpoint as they filled sacks with luxury goods, Interior Ministry spokesman Florion Seriani told AFP.

Seriani said their abandoned car was found two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Tirana’s TEG shopping mall.

Police found two automatic weapons in the trash can near the mall, believed to belong to the thieves.

And in neighboring Kosovo on Thursday, two people were injured when three armed men dressed as Santa fled a jewellery shop after robbing it in the southern town Prizren, media in Tirana reported.

Kosovo police were not available for comment.