TIRANA, Sept. 2 – More than 500,000 marijuana plants have been destroyed and 240 people have been arrested so far this year in anti-drug police operations across the country, according to authorities.
Daily work by police and law enforcement authorities has supplemented the nationwide campaign to eradicate cannabis cultivation.
The most recent focus has been in the northwest of the country, but their work continues to bring results in the southwest too. These are now considered as the two main areas of cannabis cultivation.
Albanian authorities say they have confiscated more than half a million cannabis plants this year, which is almost the same amount as they found in Lazarat last year.
They have also arrested about 250 suspected growers and drug traffickers.
Fighting drug production is a top priority for police.
Albania is a major marijuana producer in Europe. A crackdown started last year, when police stormed the southern Lazarat village with armored personnel carriers – despite coming under automatic weapon and rocket fire by drug growers.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has set the fight against drugs as a main priority for his government.
