TIRANA, April 3 – The Italian Guardia di Finanza planes annually scanning massive surfaces of Albanian territory for cannabis plantations will be operating for a longer time period this year, from March to September, local media reported.
Albanian police officials met with Guardia di Finanza high delegation in Tirana to discuss the operations, which this year is mainly financed by the European Union’s SANCAS (Support to Anti-Cannabis Strategy) but still mainly coordinated by the Italian counterpart.
In addition to the prolonged scanning period, flying hours over Albanian territory will also be added to the operation – last year’s 53 missions, divided in about 129 flying hours, will increase by 30%, local media reported.
The chief of the Albanian General Police Ardi Veliu said that “the State Police is determined to not only preserve the results achieved during 2017 against cannabis cultivation, but to also eradicate this phenomenon altogether.”
He also made the project’s terrain operation elements public, starting by the “experience gained in territory surveillance and the war against cannabis cultivators and traffickers during 2017, and a full analysis of cultivation methods and trafficking routes from previous periods.”
According to the police, this operation’s most important part is the establishment of common investigation teams with Italian and European police forces for surveilling traffickers and finalizing open-end cases by identifying criminal assets and sequestering them.
Operational support for common investigations will also be provided by the Criminal Police Department and the country’s newly established Task Forces.
