Authorities say increase in human trafficking seen from the southern border with Greece. Migrants come from Asia and Africa and are looking to get to Western Europe
KAKAVIJE, Aug. 13 – Albanian border officials say are seeing an increase in the number of migrants from African and Asian countries entering southern Albania illegally from Greece and looking to transit through the country on the way to Western Europe.
About 30 migrants were caught last week alone near the city of Tepelena by local police and were turned over to the border police, which according to international agreements, processed them and returned them to the country from which they entered Albania – Greece, which police says has taken them back.
However police say the trend is larger and hundreds of people have been caught this summer in Albania.
Albanian officials are worried however, because they have found the migrants had local help and they want to avoid the return of organized networks in Albania which help smuggle people to Western Europe, something Albania had fought hard and almost entirely eradicated in recent years.
Police say the would-be immigrants have come a long way and generally have entered Greece illegally from Turkey. They primarily aim to transit Albania and go to Montenegro, from where they will move on to other countries.
The traffic of illegal immigrants has been widespread in Greece for years, but the flux has only recently managed to go through Albania.
Albania had for years been a source for migrants desperate to reach Western Europe, but improvements in economic conditions, increased legal opportunities to travel and stronger law enforcement meant the old illegal people smuggling networks were taken down.
Police now worry some of these will be brought back to work, creating a new challenge for the Albanian police.
