According to a report of the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drugs Services, from which the Voice of America cited yesterday, cannabis trafficking between Albania and Italy significantly increased in 2016, compared to 2015.
In 2016, 41.6 tons of marijuana were captured, a 347.15% increase from 2015. The report further specifies that the increase is partially the result of collaboration between Italian and Albanian organized crime, profiting from the geographical positioning of the two countries. The majority of the marijuana trafficked from Albania in 2016 was transported with rubber boats from Vlora or with cars on the ferry from Durrës.
On June 6, the European Drug Report already declared that the increasing traffic is the result of cannabis production inside Albania:
Recent reports indicate changes in cannabis trafficking routes, with increases in the trafficking of both herbal cannabis and cannabis oil from the western Balkans, notably Albania, linked to increased cannabis cultivation in those countries.
