TIRANA, July 14 – Thousands of marijuana plants have been detected and destroyed in fields across Albania in the past couple of weeks, authorities said.
On July 3, police destroyed 1,042 cannabis sativa plants in Shkoder. The drugs were located in Shpor village and Gur i Zi commune, where eight parcels with 820 roots of cannabis sativa were found. Meanwhile, in Karma village of the same region, four parcels with 222 plants of cannabis sativa were found, authorities said. In both cases, the plants were destroyed through burning, with only a small part taken as material evidence. No arrests were made.
Last Sunday, in southwestern Vlora region, police destroyed 12 parcels with about 3,000 cannabis plants and arrested three people.
On Tuesday, in the village of Mafsheq in the northern district of Kruje police found and destroyed some 10,000 cannabis plants in some 150 land parcels. No arrests were made.
Police said fighting drug traffic remains a top priority. Since last year’s mass police operations in the marijuana hot spots of Lazarat in the south and Malesi e Madhe in the north, police have moved to halt cultivation of the narcotic plants elsewhere in the country.