Smuggling Busts Further Taint North Macedonia’s Legal Cannabis Industry
New drug seizures cast further doubt over North Macedonia’s ability to keep its medicinal cannabis industry in check. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Week in Review: High Ambitions and Missed Opportunities
Our selection of Premium stories this week takes a look at future goals as well as lost opportunities from the past. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Five Years After Greek Journalist’s Murder, Family Urge New Probe
On the fifth anniversary of the murder of crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz, his family has renewed its call for the killers finally to be found. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Growing Demand for Weapons Turns Albania into Hub for Smuggled Arms
Fed by demand for new guns and leftovers from depots looted in the 1990s, Albania has become a key hub for small-arms trafficking. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
Serbia and North Macedonia’s Empty Eurojust Desks: A Gift to Organised Crime
The two countries’ failure to maintain liaisons to the EU’s criminal justice agency – partly for political reasons – is a setback to vital cooperation against cross-border organised crime groups.…
Major Cocaine Heist Reveals Albanian Links to Swedish Drug Trade
The theft of a shipment of cocaine that was smuggled from Costa Rica to Sweden exposed the role of Albanian criminal groups in the international logistics of the drug trade,…
Montenegro’s Crypto Ambitions Need Tough Rules to Succeed
Montenegro is promoting the use of cryptocurrencies to signal its technological modernisation – but without better oversight, it risks becoming a permissive grey zone for illicit finance. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight
High-Profile Convict Escapes Embarrass Montenegro at Crucial EU Juncture
In the space of a week, a convicted drug trafficker and a former special prosecutor have fled prison sentences in Montenegro, embarrassing the country just as it tries to convince…
Record Marijuana Busts Spark Political Rows in North Macedonia, Serbia
Major seizures of drugs in North Macedonia and Serbia – allegedly involving crops grown legally but diverted for trafficking – have raised questions about the medical marijuana industry and caused…
Port-to-Port: How Albanians Conquered the European Cocaine Market
BIRN reporters trace the rise of Albanian crime gangs to the top of the European cocaine trafficking ladder, from remote parts of Paraguay to European Union ports. KAYNAK: Balkan Insight