Exiled Monarch Held on Weapons Charges

The exiled monarch of Albania has been arrested on charges of possessing illegal weapons after police found an arsenal of arms and explosives in the would-be king’s home north of Johannesburg, South African officials said Saturday.

Leka Zogu, who was rebuffed in an effort two years ago to restore the monarchy in his troubled homeland, was among four foreigners taken into custody Friday night at his walled estate in suburban Fourways, said officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It was suspected for a long time that this guy was involved in some shady dealings,” an official said. “This guy had connections all over the place.”

Police Capt. Francois Grobbelaar would not confirm the identities of those arrested, but he said investigators found a cache of illegal weapons in the white stucco home that included everything from grenade launchers to antipersonnel mines. More than 14,000 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated.

“They had converted one part of the house into an armory,” Grobbelaar said. “This was a very, very big bust. They found more than 70 firearms, including AK-47 rifles.”

Grobbelaar said police are still investigating the origin and purpose of the arsenal. He would not say whether the weapons were intended for export or use in South Africa.

The arrests came less than 48 hours after the South African government rescinded a special deal of diplomatic immunity that the 59-year-old heir to the Albanian throne had struck with the former apartheid regime.

Under the 1991 arrangement, Leka’s “possessions and archives” enjoyed diplomatic privilege, according to Marco Boni, spokesman for the South African Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Boni would not confirm that Leka had been arrested, nor would he comment on the timing of the government’s decision to cancel his immunity.

A South African government official, however, said the decision was long overdue because the 1991 deal was essentially a payback to the Albanian royal family, which had been supportive of the white-minority regime and allegedly helped supply it with arms during years of international isolation.

“The situation was something the new government inherited from the previous government, and it had to be corrected,” the official said. “Albania has done away with the idea of the monarchy, and it was in our national interest to normalize our relationship with Albania.”

Another South African official said Leka was aware of a police investigation into his arms cache but apparently did not expect authorities to move so quickly after revoking his diplomatic protection.

“They had been hiding behind this diplomatic immunity and were caught off guard when the police arrived,” the official said.

Leka moved to South Africa in 1982 after a life in exile in Europe and briefly Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. His father, King Zog, was Albania’s first and only sovereign. The king and his family, including newly born Leka, fled Albania when Italian forces invaded in 1939.

After World War II, Albania’s Communist regime refused to allow members of the royal family to enter the country. When Leka did travel to Albania in 1993, his hotel was surrounded by troops.

His second homecoming in 1997 ended in bloodshed as supporters exchanged fire with police in Tirana, the capital, after a bid failed to restore his family’s reign.

Leka is reportedly being tried in absentia in Tirana for the violence.