Unit 326

Unit 326 was an Albanian special forces group. It consisted of approximately 600 members. Its duties included counter-terrorism, riot control, search and rescue, and demolition. In some respect its duties were reminiscent of the British SAS. After 1991 the unit was abolished due to its controversial role and association with the Communist government of Albania, and its members were dispersed into subsequent special operations units such as RENEA, ROS, Shqiponjat, and the Commando Brigade.

Unit 326 was activated in 1982 as Battalion 326 in an anti-riot role under the all-powerful Ministry of Interior. The first batch of recruits came from a variety of military and law enforcements units such as the army, National Guard, National Police and Navy divers. In the period 1982-1990 the unit was mostly employed in security measures in sport stadiums, which due to the degeneration of the political and economic situation in Albania were considered as potential hubs of mass movements of insurrection. In this period the unit came only twice in armed conflict.

The first time was in September, 1982 when a band of three Albanian expatriates - named Haznedari and Mustafa, and an unidentified resident of New Zealand - reputedly joined with rightwing political exiles and decided to challenge the Communist dictatorship. Haznedari, owner of a commercial laundry in Rome and banned from the U.S. for several years on political grounds, and the New Zealander were reputedly undercover Communist Albanian intelligence officers, who had left Albania in the late 1940s to spy on their fellow nationals living in exile. Mustafa, also an immigrant from Albania and owner of a Staten Island, NY auto repair shop, had fled a US court trial on drug smuggling charges in the spring of 1981. The trio chartered a fishing boat in a southeast Italy village and were transported across the Adriatic Sea by the boat's skipper. Mustafa was killed by Albanian security forces on the beach near Fier where they landed from their chartered boat, as was Hazndari. The New Zealander was captured, tried and imprisoned for several years before being freed and deported to Auckland and his family. Prince Leka Zogu, pretender to the long-abolished Albanian throne, at first claimed a link to the strange events, but soon denied being involved.

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