“The hash road is wide open through Albania”

The focus of attention may be on the coronavirus, Greek-Turkish, and cases of rape and physical or verbal violence in the arts, but this does not mean that these are the only problems our country faces. Unfortunately, sometimes these problems don’t stay within Greek borders and Greece finds itself apologizing and blaming its European partners and not just …

The problem that we will deal with extensively today comes from Albania and has to do with the importation of large quantities of hashish from the neighboring country to Greece. Unfortunately, these amounts are destined for our country, but also through it and the rest of Europe. At the beginning of December 2020, the BBC made a meticulous report in the remote towns of Pogonio and in our country, although it is recognized that it is making enormous efforts to stop and arrest drug traffickers, it is in the “chair”, as it is considered the ideal passage for drugs in Europe.

The BBC report on the remote villages of Ioannina prefecture

In early December 2020, a BBC team with journalist Costas Koukoumakas followed the routes of Indian cannabis from Albania to Greece: “The mountainous border with Albania is the largest land route for the cannabis trade in Europe. The village Haravgi Greek border of Ioannina is close to this road, but there are no barbed wire or other obstacles to the demarcation of the border. ” As we have repeatedly written, the Greek-Albanian border, which for more than a hundred years has not been etched on the ground, but only on paper, is defined by columns (the so-called “pyramids”), which are connected by imaginary straight sections and absolutely no obstacles that prevent the passage from one country to another;

Lambros Tsoumanis, an officer with the Ioannina Police Department, who has also worked in the Drug Prosecutor’s Office, said Albanians often carry 40-50 kg bags of hashish on foot or with mules. They hide the drugs in predetermined places and from there they notify their associates in Greece to receive them. This fact was confirmed by a large hashish producer from Avlona, ​​with whom the BBC spoke. A Greek officer, who patrols the area almost daily, said: “Albanians living in villages on the other side of the border traffic cannabis on foot. They are tough, strong people and they know every passage like the back of their hand. “They can survive for days in the forest.” In fact, they are often armed with Kalashnikovs.

The efforts of the Greek side are not enough

As we have rewritten, the Greek-Albanian border is guarded by Greek border guards and FRONTEX forces from various countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, etc.), who do an excellent job. Unfortunately, the Greek-Albanian border is impossible to monitor. From Thesprotia to the villages of Konitsa, there are countless places where drugs can pass in our country. The miners wait for the car to pass the Greek or foreign border guards and then move the shipment of hashish to Greek territory for their accomplices to collect it.
We have also rewritten and tired, that the crew with soldiers from the Kastaniani outpost, perhaps others, especially after the increase of the deadline to 12 months, will give some solution to the problem. There are not many border guards (most of them have moved to Evros). However, in 2020 EL.AS. they seized 1.5 tons of cannabis bound for our country, while in previous years about 9 tons had been seized!

Unfortunately, there are some isolated cases of corrupt police officers whose actions are an embarrassment to them. On May 20, 2020, a police officer working in Konitsa was arrested, as during an investigation conducted by the Internal Affairs Service of the Hellenic Police. Fifty-one cannabis saplings were found in the yard of his home and he had a small amount of hashish in his possession. It was made available and the leadership of the SAD was ordered. After his apology to the Prosecutor, he was released on restrictive terms.
The Albanian government is promoting hashish producers

The European Union, that is, the European taxpayers, has sent FRONTEX forces to Albania to prevent illegal immigrants from Greece from entering the neighboring country. Edi Rama, when he asked his country to join the EU, promised to do everything possible to reduce or eliminate the cultivation of Indian cannabis in Albania. Of course, not only did he not deliver on his promise, but a bill was drafted last May to legalize medical cannabis for a year, and the Albanian prime minister said that the illegal cultivation was under control. The town of Lazarates, 30 km from the Greek-Albanian border, is known as a center for drug cultivation. Note that this is the only Muslim village in the area, while the rest are Christian. A giant operation in 2014 seized tons of marijuana, thousands of cannabis saplings, and many weapons. The cultivation of Indian hemp not only did not stop in Lazarat, but it expanded throughout the country in the following years.

Corruption is a big problem for Albania
Drug gangs in Albania have been known to bribe officers and senior police officers to turn a blind eye. After all, money is flowing abundantly into the neighboring country. A kilo of cannabis, when sold in bulk from Albania, is worth 1,000 euros, while in Western Europe, where it is channeled from Greece and Italy, drug lords sell it for at least 2,000 euros. The BBC also spoke with a young Albanian cannabis producer, who made important revelations.

As you said, you can make a fortune from drug dealing, until you are caught and arrested (if that ever happens βέ).
“You can bribe the Chief of Police or the Drug Agency, but if someone finds you, they all think for themselves,” he said.
However, he was very satisfied with his “activity” in 2020. “This year we found good terrain in the grasslands near the town of Tepeleni, a three-hour hike up the mountain.” There he planted 50,000 cannabis seedlings on his own and even gave advice to his would-be copycats: “There are three basic rules: near water, away from police and strange eyes, plus patience …”.
However, the US State Department’s annual report on drugs described Albania as “the base of transnational organized crime networks involved in drug trafficking in Europe and beyond.” He also stressed that the problem is not going to be solved immediately.

The … dismantled gates of Makr (y) alexi Monastery
Of course, Albanian drug dealers have no suspensions or barriers. These are ruthless criminals. The historic Makr (y) alexi monastery, between the villages of Agia Marina and Lavdani de Pogoni, is located on a drug “passage”. The main building of the Monastery was recently restored, as well as two other small buildings (hostels?), Near the Monastery. Today, there are no monks in the monastery.
When a priest visited the Monastery, he was surprised to see that the doors of the two small buildings had been removed and were on the ground. What happened; Albanian drug dealers (or illegal immigrants?) Broke down the doors, placed them on the ground and slept on them, apparently unable to sleep on the ground …

Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality, which almost never reaches the top officials of each government … The Akrites of Pogonis also have to face the problems created by Albanians and other illegal immigrants, as we mentioned in our previous article and the impossibility transition in Ioannina, as of November 2020 the KTEL Ioannina buses, due to the coronavirus, do not make itineraries through the towns of the prefecture. SYRIZA MPs raised a relevant question after our post, but without any positive development …

As for the economic situation in Albania? If one stops in Kalpaki, on the Ioannina-Kakavia national road, you will notice that all the luxury cars heading to the border have Albanian license plates … Along with cannabis, which is unfortunately, as we know, very widespread, especially among young people, in cities and large settlements (Konitsa, Parakalamos, etc.) of Ioannina prefecture, but also in the capital of Epirus, Albania, the economy is flourishing … And we do not think it is necessary to explain how and why …
Note: The word weed you see in one of the photos in the text means cannabis or marijuana.
Sources: PROOINOS LOGOS IOANNINA newspaper
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