US State Department: Kosovo transfer point for Afghan heroin on the way to the
The United States State Department warned that Kosovo presents a transit point for Afghan heroin moving to Western Europe through Turkey mainly due to the weak border control in Kosovo, with corrupted border police and customs.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, March 06, 2008
"United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) officials believe some officers allow narcotics shipments to pass through the border and administrative boundary gates," the State Department said in a latest report on drug-trafficking in Balkans.
Most of drugs smuggled trough Kosovo end up in the Western Europe, namely Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and Sweden ... UNMIK and KPS officials believe much of the drug trade is managed through family/clan networks, the report said.
In the latest of rare seizures of drugs in Kosovo, KPS arrested four people who had tried to smuggle some 10 kilos of heroin near town of Urosevac.
The total volume of drugs smuggled through Balkans is estimated at some 7 billion dollars, making the drug-trafficking the most lucrative industry in troubled South-eastern Europe, Interpol officials told KosovoCompromise.com.
According to a series of intelligence reports, the most of drug-related business in Kosovo, parts of Albania and Macedonia, as well as Czech Republic has been controlled by the "Drenica group" led by former Albanian guerrilla leader and current Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.
