Editorial: The red line: Setting a clear boundary between crime and politics
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- Albanians deserve better, that’s why a clear border between the criminal cannabis economy and politics must be set
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Red lines in Albania when it comes to crime and politics have increasingly become blurry in recent years, and it is a subject this newspaper has addressed in length in the past, but when it comes to cannabis cultivation, it bears repeating — unless a thick red line is place and perpetrators who cross it are punished, Albania will continue to face tremendous problems.
It is an undeniable fact that cannabis has been grown in Albania during the past four years at an industrial scale. In fact, cannabis has become an important element in the black economy, with thousands of people employed in previous years, from those who work in the fields to those processing it.
Some data show that domestic use of this illegal substance has increased tenfold in recent years, however, the bulk of it is destined to European markets — by trucks, boats and even planes.
It is clear that there are now billions of dollars being made overall, and so the question goes — where is the money going?
The opposition has made grand accusations about the money being used to keep the left in power through purchasing elections and influence.
If we keep in mind one statistic global statistic, that usually only about 10 percent of the drugs are seized by law enforcement agencies — then with the 100s of tons seized so far in Italy and Albania alone, the profits overall must be astounding.
It is an ominous time for Albania given the strength that criminal organizations can gain with that type of money.
In addition to cannabis, Albania is now on the map as a transit hub for harder drugs coming from the East. The trend only gets worse with profits from that source.
Only a few years ago, the situation was not this bad. So what has happened to bring the country to this point? There are only two possible scenarios.
The first one is that the government and its law enforcement agencies have lost control of the country’s territory and its borders. Law enforcement agencies have failed to do their job, to enforce the rule of law. This can be fixed. Where there is a will, there is a way. And the current government says it has a strategy that is working.
However, the second scenario is even more troubling. It has the government itself being in the drug business, profiting from it.
In both cases the government has failed to do its most basic duties. And no government in a normal country would be able to continue to run the country.
We don’t know which scenario we are seeing. The second needs proof, the first is evident. However, as former interior minister is now under investigation, the first scenario is still a possibility.
Whichever way things play out, Albanians deserve better, that’s why that thick red line is important in separating the criminal economy from the honest Albanians.
