Police eliminated 1.8 tons of seized drugs in the presence of several foreign ambassadors.
TIRANA, May 22 – A trend of massive drug busts continued last week, with large amounts of marijuana being seized in Albania and neighboring countries.
Albanian police said they had seized 1.55 metric tons of marijuana and arrested two people last week. The drugs were seized packed in a minivan in the port city of Vlora, 140 kilometers southwest of capital Tirana.
Police said it was believed to have come from the village of Lazarat, the key growing region with an annual production estimated at 900 tons, worth about 4.5 billion euros — or about half the country’s GDP.
This year police have seized about 20 tons of cannabis produced in the Albania.
The political fight continued this week with the opposition accusing the government after news that German police had seized 5.6 tons of cannabis hidden in marble rocks exported from Albania. It turned out into a political fiasco after German embassy said that was seized in October last year ( a month after the new government came to power) and which meant that was drugs of the now opposition Democrats’ time in power.
On Tuesday, police in southern Gjirokastra seized 350 kilograms of cannabis in a vehicle stopped in a national road there. Two people transporting it were declared at large.
Local news also reported that in nearby Italy police seized 782 kilograms of cannabis and arrested 9 people, seven of them Albanians, in Florence.
It is believed the drugs had gone there from Albania. Italian police calculated the value of the drugs seized at 4.6 million euros.
The Greek police on Monday said they had seized the biggest cannabis bust ever with a 700 kilograms of the drug found inside a concealed compartment in a truck that had entered Greece from Albania and is believed to have been headed to Germany. Two men were arrested.
The Interior Ministry said that in April this year they had seized three and a half times more cannabis compared to the same period last year.
On Tuesday, police eliminated 1.8 tons of seized drugs in the presence of several foreign ambassadors and pledged further efforts in collaboration with international partners to fight such a phenomenon.
The interior minister has also threatened of to amend the country’s laws to allow for confiscation of private land where cannabis is planted.
