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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Albania increases anti-drug trafficking measures Erl Murati South East European Times Monday 02 Jun 2014 Large slabs of concrete that block the runways at three military airports are the latest tool to slow the flow of illegal drugs in Albania. Authorities blocked the runways at military airports in Lezhe, Korca and Gjirokastra to keep drug smugglers from using the airfields, after a small airplane crashed May 10th at Divjaka beach, 80 kilometres southwest of Tirana, with 460 kilograms of marijuana. Police arrested two people, including the pilot, who are suspected of organising the drug shipment. The government said it blocked the runways after receiving reports that one of the airports is used by drug traffickers. The prosecutor's office also started an investigation. Police are focused on suppressing drug production and trafficking, and have confiscated 20 tonnes of cannabis in the last eight months, Florion Serjani, media adviser to Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri, told SETimes. Albanian police have participated in 42 joint operations with six partner countries, resulting in the arrest of 52 international drug traffickers. Serjani said the interior ministry is now drafting a law that will allow the authorities to confiscate land belonging to groups or individuals that cultivate cannabis. But the opposition Democratic Party said the measures have been ineffective. The opposition organised protests in front of parliament and the prime minister's office and demanded that Prime Minister Edi Rama resign. Rama, however, rejected the calls. "Anti-drug trafficking measures entered a new stage and Albania is winning more and more respect internationally for its efforts," Rama said. Analysts said Albania is one of the most important hubs for the transit of drugs from Eastern to Western Europe. "The criminal syndicates invested in cultivating cannabis have made Albania one of the major providers for the European markets," Arjan Dyrmishi, head of the European and security research department at the Institute for Democracy and Mediation in Tirana, told SETimes. Drug producers and traffickers took advantage during the nation's preoccupation with the elections and change of government last year, and grew cannabis in large quantities, said Elona Gjebrea, deputy interior minister and the national anti-trafficking co-ordinator. "The new government came in power at a time when drug production reached far more than alarming levels. In spite of that, the measures it has undertaken are tough," Gjebrea told SETimes. Gjebrea said Albania must increase co-operation regionally and internationally to counter the sophistication of drug traffickers. "We will forge co-operation with our partners because this is a war which we cannot win by ourselves," she said. What else can Albanian authorities do to combat drug trafficking? Share your opinion in the comments space. http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2014/06/02/feature-01
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