More needed to fight drug trafficking, report says

TIRANA, April 6 – The Department of State report on international drug traffic puts Albania and Kosovo as transit countries for the drugs going to Western Europe.
Michael Brown, an expert on anti-trafficking, told the Voice of America Monday that despite increased efforts from the governments of these two countries the organized crime gangs are faster in updating their technology and strategies to cope with the fight.
Brown also said that these governments have little or limited capabilities of the law enforcement to really significantly curb such a traffic.
Brown urged the two governments to continue their efforts and also their capabilities in such a fight.
The US Agency against Drug Traffic has some 90 persons in the Balkan region cooperating with the countries there to stop drug trafficking there. That also serves as a linking bridge among the regional countries’ cooperation in that effort, he said.
Drug traffic is the biggest illegal business in the world with some $322 billion followed by human trafficking with $32 billion, said Brown.
He said that drug traffic is a global threat and it should also be dealt with globally.
Albania is a transit point for hard drugs like heroin coming from Afghanistan, but it is also a country of origin for the production of marijuana.
The government and police have set fighting drug traffic as a main priority.