Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are the bases of mafia organizations, according to the report of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Criminal rings in the Western Balkans have become major traffickers drugs both regionally and at European Union level, according to a report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
The report released today shows that the strategic geographical location of countries such as Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovocombined with the high demand for drugs, particularly in the European Union and Turkey, have accelerated the operations of criminal organizations.
“Some EU countries are on smuggling routes that pass through the Western Balkans before re-entering the EU. This means that trafficking flows can be complex”the Center said in the report, which is part of a larger regional study conducted between 2019 and 2022.
A significant diaspora from the Balkan region in the EU also provides a pool of people who can be used or recruited into these circles, the report says.
The EMCDDA reported the operational presence of Western Balkan groups in Belgium and the Netherlandswhere the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam are important for the distribution and import of drugs into the EU.
Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are also important locations for these organizations in the cocaine, heroin and cannabis markets in Europe, noted the EMCDDA.
These mafia-like networks have also adopted the latest technology available to improve the efficiency of drug production, trafficking and money laundering, the report said.
This includes complex equipment for indoor cultivation, drones or the use of cryptocurrencies and encrypted communications.
That’s all Western Balkans as well as EU countries serve as a haven for criminals hiding from rival criminal groups or law enforcement.
“Members of Italian and Turkish criminal networks are said to be evading justice by being in the Western Balkans, while Russian criminal organizations are believed to be involved in money laundering activities along the region’s coastline,” the Center added.
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