The drug trafficking network towards Greece is hit

2024-11-14 14:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The police of Gjirokastra said on Thursday that they hit a drug trafficking network towards Greece, arresting 6 people and declaring 5 others wanted.

According to the police, the members of the network are accused of having organized as a group trafficked marijuana narcotics to Greece, as well as helping some groups of immigrants to illegally cross the Greece-Albania border, against payment.

The police said that the investigation for this group, spread over several areas of Albania, has been conducted for more than a year under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office of Gjirokastra.

The police said that during the investigation period, significant amounts of monetary value, military ammunition, mobile phones, vehicles, forged documents, etc., were seized.

According to the police, the members of the network are from several cities in Albania, such as Kukësi, Elbasan, Tepelena and Gjirokastra, and have played a role in the organization of marijuana traffic to Greece, as well as in the smuggling of irregular immigrants.

Albania continues to remain one of the main suppliers of raw marijuana to Greece, although during 2023 the figures marked a decrease, according to a report of the Greek anti-drug police.

According to the report, in 2023, about 18.11% of raw marijuana in Greece was identified as originating from Albania.

The Greek anti-drug police estimated in the report that about 72.01% of the marijuana imported into Greece during 2023 had an unknown origin.

"There is a significant number of cases where the origin of the marijuana was not clearly determined and it is suspected that it was mainly in Albania, as the seizures took place in areas close to the Greek-Albanian border," said the Greek anti-drug report.

While the figures of 2023 seem to have marked a decrease compared to 2022 where about 40% of the marijuana seized in Greece resulted from Albania, according to the Greek anti-drug agency, Albanian marijuana networks remain active especially in the distribution market.

According to the report, in 2023 about 25% of members of organized crime groups of marijuana traffic arrested in Greece were Albanian citizens and about 63% were Greek.

The report says that narcotics transporters operate through unguarded crossings on the northern Greek border neighboring Albania, but also on that of North Macedonia, carrying bags of raw marijuana on foot, through forests, through difficult and deserted areas of the border. / Voa