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Albania’s Cocaine Haul Draws Both Praise and Accusations

March 2, 201801:23
While the US and EU ambassadors have lauded the Albanian police for seizing a record quantity of cocaine this week, the government’s critics say the size of the haul is deeply worrying.
 
  Cocaine seized by Albanian Police on 28 February 2018. Photo cortesy: Ministry of Interiors of Albania

It was a fine day for Albanian’s embattled police – whose image was badly tarnished reports of close connections between senior police officers and drug-lords last year.

An investigation that lasted about two weeks ended on Wednesday with police seizing a record quantity of Colombian cocaine.

However, while the police received well deserved praise for the operation, some question whether the size of the drug haul is a sign of police success – or whether it is also as a sign of how massive the drug smuggling business in Albania has become.

US ambassador Donald Lu and the EU Delegation in Tirana offered warm words to the Albanian police for nabbing 613 kg of cocaine, found in a banana container on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Edi Rama also hailed the operation as a great success for the police.

But not everyone is convinced that everything is as it should be.

The operation, which police said “was conducted without outside help”, ended with the arrest of two 25-year-old Albanians, while a third suspect, a businessman, remains on the run.

“The US Embassy and the US Drug Enforcement Administration commend the Albanian State Police, Serious Crimes Prosecutors, and Customs officials for the seizure of 614 kilos of Colombian cocaine yesterday in Durres,” the US Embassy wrote on its Facebook page.

“It is a welcome sign that Albanian law enforcement is being vigilant, but also a worrying signal that the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs is increasing,” the US statement added.

The EU Delegation in Tirana followed up shortly in another Facebook post. “Well done, step up the fight against organized crime even more. Criminals cannot win over power of law,” it read.

However, the opposition is far from convinced that the seizure represents a true success story for the country.

The head of the centre-right Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, claimed that the seizure of such quantity only showed how massive the drug smuggling problem has become in Albania.

“This is just one shipment,” Basha commented on Wednesday. “It shows how the economy is being kidnapped by drug proceeds.”

Questions have also been raised about why police have arrested only two suspects over the shipment, and whether the prime suspect, Arber Cekaj, who runs a small fruit and vegetable company, was the true owner of the haul. Speculation is rife that others are connected to this massive operation.

The huge value of the cocaine seized is seen as an indicator of wider involvement.

Procuring 613 kg of pure cocaine from Latin America requires millions and perhaps tens of millions of euros.

And, if a drug smuggling network is able to risk such sums for a single shipment, critics say that only shows how powerful they are.

The opposition claims the centre-left government itself has presided over Albania’s transformation into a drugs hub for the whole of Europe, and that claim drugs proceeds were used to sway last year’s elections, which Rama’s Socialists won.

However, it is not just the opposition that sees massive amounts of drug money in the country.

The Albanian currency, the lek, has appreciated by about 5.7 per cent over the last two years – and some bankers and journalists believe the hard currency earned by drug smuggling is one reason for this.

Such speculation comes as questions are asked also about where the money is coming from to pay for the unexpected construction boom in Tirana.

The authorities issued about 500 planning permits last year, which will result in the building of over 500,000 square metres of new apartment blocs.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, the building boom would require the investment of about 37 billion leks, worth 280 million euros – a huge sum for a small, poor country.

INSTAT estimated the cost of the investment by multiplying the volume of work in square metres by the minimal cost of construction, which is about 200 euros per square metre.

But the developers expect to sell these apartments for at least 1,000 euros per metre, and many wonder also where these billions of euros will come from.

Monitor, a weekly magazine specializing in economic reporting, has shown that many of the companies that received permits to erect high-rise buildings in the priciest parts of Tirana do not have enough assets from their financial statements to finance such huge projects – while the banks apparently refused to provide them with loans.

Reflecting on these data, Basha claimed on Wednesday that the country is being turned into a massive drugs money laundry.

“How is such a construction boom being financed?” Basha said. “The Municipality of Tirana is being transformed in a Laundromat of drugs and crime proceeds,” he answered.