Debar woman reported a 3,000-euro burglary at her home - police found she had made it up

A 24-year-old Debar resident with the initials E.K. walked into the Debar police station on September 15 with a story the police hear all the time: someone had got into her house and taken gold jewellery and other items worth around 3,000 euros.

The police did their job - checks, official procedures, a consultation with the public prosecutor. The conclusion: there had been no break-in. Almost a month later, the only criminal complaint in the case is against her, for "false reporting of a crime" under Article 366 of the Criminal Code.

Why she invented the burglary, the police bulletin doesn't say. But every false report comes with a price: investigators chasing thieves who don't exist instead of the real ones.

It's rare for a police story to end this cleanly, with the truth laid out on the table. Will the people whose homes really were broken into get the same thoroughness?