Albanian
cartels run Afghan drugs aimed for Europe - UN
TIRANA, Albania-Organized crime is becoming more entrenched in the postwar
Balkans and threatens stability across a much wider region, including Central
Asia, the Caucasus and other parts of the former Soviet Union, the U.N.'s
anti-drug chief said.
Highlighting one key problem, Antonio Maria Costa said the Balkans has
become the most important route for Afghan drugs moving to the rest of
Europe.
The Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, which he leads, is
preparing a program to help countries in the region combat the illegal
drug and weapons trades, human trafficking and other crime, Costa said
Wednesday at a presentation to Albanian officials and Western diplomats
in Tirana.
At the core of his strategy is encouraging the international community,
which helped end years of war in the region in the 1990s, to support Balkan
nations in strengthening the rule of law.
"Organized crime, money laundering, corruption and trafficking are major
problems in the Balkans today," Costa said.
He said the trade in heroin and other drugs from Afghanistan on the
way to Western Europe brings in an annual US$2.5 billion (€2.1 billion)
for Kurdish, Turkish and Albanian cartels.
"The Balkan route of Afghan drugs is shown to be the most important
conduit toward the rest of Europe," he said.
Human trafficking was "a low risk and high profit business throughout
the Balkans," he said.
Organized crime flourished after years of war and international isolation
left the region's authorities weakened and encouraged corruption.
February 23, 2006 7:37 AM