1 ton of cannabis seized

VLORA, Aug. 11 – Police in the southwestern port city of Vlora reported that they had seized one ton of cannabis sativa ready to be taken across the Ionian Sea to neighboring Greece. They also said that two suspects are at large.
The drug was found at the Shen Vasili bay at the Karaburun Peninsula following a police operation there. A police statement said it would be sent to nearby Greek island of Corfu with a tourist boat. The two suspects have allegedly left for Greece after escaping police.
Albania is a country of origin for the cannabis. We can ‘boast’ of being a main supplier for those drugs in the European continent. It is also a transit country for heroin coming from Afghanistan in Asia.
Despite many attempts and efforts by police cannabis is grown almost everywhere around the country.
It is an easy money earning and also one good source of income for poor Albanians in mainly the remote areas.
Police also tried to stop its main source of production, the Lazarat commune in the Gjirokastra district in the south. They surrounded the commune, cut thousands of cannabis plants in its suburbs and also arrested a few persons taking care of the plants. But they could not enter the area, which was filmed from Italian planes to have been planted almost all of that with cannabis.
That again shows that fighting illegal trafficking of drugs needs a total commitment from the government authorities, law enforcement institutions and also the common people. It also needs new methods from the government to support the life of the people in such areas. Having no other source of income they easily turn to such an illegal way that brings them good money. Replacing that with development projects and a strong hand to fight main criminals, organizers of the traffic seems to be far from the exiting reality.