European report: Albanian networks active in "houses of grass" in several European countries

2023-11-16 17:54:00, Aktualitet CNA

European report: Albanian networks active in "houses of grass" in

cannabis

The criminal networks of the Western Balkans seem to have adapted a new business model that focuses mainly on the cultivation of cannabis in closed environments in the European Union.

This is stated in a report published by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDA) and Europol.

According to the report "Drug market in the EU, cannabis", based on data from several joint international investigations, Albanian and Serbian networks, in particular, appear to be involved in the cultivation of cannabis on a large scale in the European Union, especially in Spain .

The report mentions several cases of hitting criminal networks, including Albanian ones in the cultivation of cannabis in closed environments.

"In July 2021, a criminal network led by an Albanian clan was dismantled in the north-east of Spain, where it managed several internal cannabis plantations where 107 people were arrested, including Albanian, Spanish, Slovak and Greek nationals, dismantled 51 cannabis farms and 25,000 cannabis plants were seized. At the end of the operation, Europol estimated that more than 1.6 million euros of electricity for the cultivation of cannabis had been stolen," the report states.

According to the Europol Report and the Drug Monitoring Center, Spain is not the only member state of the European Union where Western Balkan networks engage in the cultivation of cannabis.

"For example, the report states, 60 members of an Albanian criminal network were arrested in April 2019 for managing at least a dozen cannabis plantations in Belgium and northern France."

The report also states that "Belgian, Dutch and Albanian networks seem to be the main actors in the cultivation of cannabis in Belgium".

"Several factors are thought to have contributed to this, such as proximity to consumer markets, as well as the risks and costs associated with the trafficking of cannabis into the European Union from the Western Balkans," the report assesses.

"Criminal networks of the Western Balkans seem to be involved not only in the cultivation of cannabis within the European Union, but also in the trafficking of cannabis that is cultivated in the countries of the Western Balkans, and some of these networks may also be involved in the wholesale trafficking of of cocaine in Europe," the report says.

"Although the majority of herbal cannabis consumed in the EU is likely to have been produced in the EU, the Western Balkans region appears to remain an important source of herbal cannabis trafficked into the European market," it added.

Western Balkan countries are also important suppliers of cannabis to other countries in the region and Turkey.

According to the EMCDA and Europol report "Albania was considered a major non-EU source of herbal cannabis destined for the European market before 2018, but since then neighboring countries such as Greece, Italy and North Macedonia report significant reductions in cannabis seizures of Albanian origin".

"Although available information suggests an increase in production in other countries of the Western Balkans, no intensification of cross-border trafficking of cannabis has been observed to date," the report states.

Herbal cannabis trafficked from the Western Balkans to the European Union appears to be mainly transported by land.

According to the report "approximately 48% of the herbal cannabis seized in Greece in 2020 was thought to be of Albanian origin, a decrease compared to previous years' figures (62% in 2018 and 71% in 2017)".

Trafficking of herbal cannabis to Italy also appears to have declined in recent years, as shown by seizure data and the number of boats crossing the Adriatic Sea, the report said.

However, according to the report, “sea routes continue to be used, as in the case of the recent seizure of 1 ton of herbal cannabis from a sailboat and speedboat off the coast of Vlora, Albania, in August 2022, suspected of being intended for sale in Italy."

The European Anti-Drug Report estimates that numerous types of cannabis products can also be trafficked from the Western Balkans to European Union countries.

The report mentions a case in February 2020 where Italian authorities seized 450 kilograms of herbal cannabis, 75 kilograms of cannabis resin and 3.5 liters of cannabis oil in the same shipment from Albania.

In another case mentioned in the report, in April 2020, Italian law enforcement arrested two Italian citizens for smuggling about 646 kilograms of herbal cannabis and 250 kilograms of cannabis resin from Albania.

In a limited number of cases, cannabis trafficking from the Western Balkans appears to have been carried out via small planes and unmanned aerial vehicles, the report said./ VOA