Kozeta Cika contributed to this article
Image by LA(Phot) Dean Nixon
Technical Minister of Internal Affairs, Dritan Demiraj, during an interview on Report TV, stated that the war against drugs is not over yet.
“There is a list of 124 people involved in narcotic trafficking. Part of the list are not only simple farmers, but also public figures connected to government that have political support”.
He explained he managed to obtain such a list, due to his function and better cooperation with other agencies, compared to his predecessors.
“The list is compiled by various agencies that I do not mention here. Of course, the prime minister and the others near him possess this list, so we are working in the function of the organic duty that we will ultimately purify the country from such a phenomenon, so that Albania will no longer be on the map of trafficking countries. But now we have to tell the truth openly: without having political support, no one can cultivate cannabis freely. Without the support of the local government and police, head of commune, head of municipality, leaders of the party in power, it is impossible to traffic drugs. There have been cases when dozens of drug tons were found in police officers’ possession”, he said.
Meanwhile, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) following the publication of its annual report, has provided detailed information on the change of cannabis market in Europe. According to the map, published by the EMCDDA, Albania is a cannabis trafficking node from Afghanistan, destined to the Netherlands and then Great Britain. Albanian criminal groups are reported to be involved in Afghan cannabis trade, mainly in Eastern and Central Europe, and through the Netherlands to the UK, the report states.
Following the seizure of 15 tons of drugs in Vlora region last month, dozens of people have been stopped by the police, where the amount of drugs caught varied from several grams to hundreds of kilos. The defendants are from different categories, families or local bar managers.
Similarly, the destruction of narcotic plants has been attained in some regions of Albania.
