Albanian gangsters' drug empire guarded by arsenal of machine guns and RPG's
Although, the country's has returned, since the. They have also claimed that many members of the Muslim Community were not counted in the census. Also, there have been allegations after the arrest of the Mafia ringleaders that ISIS has been moving in to take over the operation. Sam skadim na mesec za sto ali sto petdeset jurjev.
Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. Mosques became a target for Albanian communists who saw their continued existence as exerting an ideological presence in the minds of people.
Skunk, albanka in domačica naša so pravica - The communists retained a stronghold in the , after popular support in the first in. In Schmitt, Oliver Jens.
The men are part of a group of 30 arrested after 800 armed police backed up by helicopters and armored personnel carriers stormed into the Albanian village of Lazarat. They raided the village in order to destroy a cannabis-producing empire but were met with resistance from the gangsters armed with grenades, RPGs and machine guns. Police seized more than 100 tonnes of marijuana and burned over half a million drug plants Incredibly, police seized 102 tonnes of marijuana and destroyed over half a million marijuana plants. The cannabis they torched left a cloud of smoke so thick it obscured local buildings. In its 2015 report, the U. Share This is the equivalent to nearly half of Albania's GDP and makes it Europe's biggest illegal cultivator of marijuana. To protect their turf, narcotics barons had turned the area around Lazarat into a no-go zone and with millions available to grease the right pockets, the region was generating hundreds of tonnes of marijuana annually, with residents even using private planes to distribute their drugs. But Lazarat came onto the radar of western drug officials in 2012 after two Dutch motorbike tourists travelling through Albania were stunned to see thousands of cannabis plants lining the roadside. The video they made went viral, prompting embarrassing questions to be laid at the feet of Albanian officials, who finally decided to tackle the problem with EU backing in 2014. The 10 who were jailed by the Serious Crimes Court in Tirana include alleged ringleader of the gang Gate Mahmutaj, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for taking part in the armed resistance against police. His deputy Arjan Basha was sentenced to 17 years in prison, also for armed resistance. Lazarat locals Ramadan Basha and Engliend Aliko were given 12 years, Matias Bocia and Altea Haska were sentenced to 11 years each, and seven years was given to Klajdi Karemani, Lorenc Bregu and Vandam Mahmutaj, the son of Gate Mahmutaj. Grenades were also stashed by the gangsters, ten of whom have been jailed by Albanian authorities The only defendant who was sentenced to two years was the teenager Drini Aliko. All 10 had denied the charges but were found guilty after a three-hour deliberation by judges. After the raids, cannabis production was decimated in Lazarat but according to police it has since sprang up again in neighbouring villages, and in other more remote regions in the country. Also, there have been allegations after the arrest of the Mafia ringleaders that ISIS has been moving in to take over the operation. Not just drugs, but also arms smuggling and trafficking in women have all been targeted by the jihadists. Earlier this week local MP Tritan Shehu, who is a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Albania, said: 'I was among the first that raised the voice and warned about the ISIS recruitment, and the relation between crime and terrorism.