Drug smuggling continues to pose problems for authorities

TIRANA, April 17 – Despite the efforts from law enforcement authorities drug traffic continues to remain a great concern for Albania and neighbouring countries.
Police authorities said recently at a conference on the fight against illegal drug trafficking that the country is no longer in the list of transit countries for the hard drugs. But it still remains one for other drugs, such as cannabis sativa (marijuana).
Authorities said that only last year they had collected and stopped trafficking of some 21 tonnes of cannabis.
Still there is continuous news from the neighbouring countries on cannabis that likely goes into them from Albania.
Neighbouring Greece insists that cannabis from Albania has turned into a big problem for the law enforcement authorities there.
The two countries have 240 kilometres of border line in a rugged terrain that helps such an illegal activity. Along the borderline, the thugs have created paths even through the most inaccessible parts. The smuggling of drugs is conducted by armed groups of Albanians, who either hide the drugs at the mountain, or load them in their Greek partners’ vehicles. Sometimes, they donkeys are used for the drug transportation, which are familiar with the mountain roads.
Only during the first three months this year they have seized 2.5 tons of hashish near the Greek-Albanian border.
An organised criminal network of Albanian speaking criminals, suspected of illegally trafficking drugs with links to trafficking in human beings for prostitution, has been dismantled with the support of Eurojust and Europol last week.
Nineteen people were arrested during a joint action day which involved judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Albania, a statement on the Europol website said. Seven arrests were made in Albania, one in France and 11 in Italy.
Last March’s report of the U.S. Department of State report said that “Albania is an intermediate station and destination of cannabis, heroin and cocaine. It is a country of origin of cannabis, which is transferred in the member states of the European Union.”