8.1.2008 by admin.

Macedonia intensifies anti-corruption efforts

07/01/2008

In one of its effort to comply with NATO’s provisions for accession, Macedonia is conducting a police operation aimed at combating corruption. So far, 60 toll operators have been convicted based on evidence from the operation.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje — 07/01/08

In 2008, Macedonia will continue to boost its fight against corruption — as requested by NATO — in order to press forward on the road to its Euro-Atlantic accession.

One of the country’s highest profile anti-corruption efforts is a continuing police operation code-named “Snake’s Eye”, which resulted in the arrest of 68 toll operators whom prosecutors say made an estimated 5m euros in illegal profits in five months.

Sixty of the former employees of Makedonija Pat — the company responsible for maintenance of Macedonia’s road network — were convicted of felonies. Two additional suspects remain at large.

The operation began in April 2007 as part of Macedonia’s effort to combat corruption. The arrests occurred after undercover police officers collected evidence by posing as taxi and truck drivers while covertly taping toll operators, their supervisors and controllers as the officers passed through toll gates.

Setimes

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8.1.2008 by admin.

Regional co-operation makes drug trafficking tougher via Balkan route

07/01/2008

The advancement of the Balkan countries towards NATO and EU membership has had a measurable effect on drug trafficking. Institutions are strengthening, new measures for regional co-operation are being adopted and there are technological advancements in border control.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje - 07/01/08

The well-known Balkan corridor for the transfer of narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances is increasingly becoming more difficult for drug traffickers to navigate due to increased efforts to combat the illegal trade. During and after the conflicts in the region, the route was full of holes, providing relatively easy access to criminal elements.

Recently, co-operation among countries and information exchanges have improved. Border services’ functions are enhanced. These efforts are helping to sew up those holes and are creating barrier after barrier for drug traffickers.

The Balkan route was long ago defined by analysts and confirmed with the number of seized narcotics and meticulous statistics by drug prevention organisations. However, the advancement of the Balkan countries towards NATO and EU membership is believed to have discouraged criminal organisations. The process of accession to NATO and the EU has another role — institutions are strengthening, new measures for regional co-operation are being adopted and there are technological advancements in border control.

Macedonia, for example, is heading forward with the so-called integrated management of borders, which means that control, monitoring and securing of the borders has been transferred from the army to the police. This move has increased co-ordination with police on border crossings and the border units that are patrolling along state lines.

With the introduction of new IT equipment, all border crossings are inter-connected so all countries have information instantaneously. Data exchange in the region has been enhanced and data protection rules have been implemented under the Southeast European Co-operative Initiative.

Macedonian customs also introduced several new techniques such as monitoring the transit transport vehicles using GPS technology. Also monitoring cameras have been posted on border crossings.

Interpol documents show that two primary routes are used to smuggle heroin: the Balkan Route– which runs through Southeastern Europe, and the Silk Route — which runs through Central Asia.

According to Interpol documents, the Balkan Route is divided into three sub-routes. Тhe southern route runs through Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy. Тhe central route runs through Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, Slovenia, and into either Italy or Austria. The northern route runs from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland or Germany. Large quantities of heroin are destined for either the Netherlands or the United Kingdom. Southeast European countries — with the exception of Albania — are mainly seen as transit areas and to a lesser extent, countries where drugs sell.

Limited areas of opium and cannabis production have been discovered in Albania, as have narcotic trafficking organisations active and expanding in Europe. However, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the situation for Albania is not straightforward. The country is frequently mentioned as a cannabis resin source. What seems to be clear, however, is that Albania’s role as a cannabis herb producer clearly exceeds its role as cannabis resin producer.

Macedonia, Serbia and BiH are regarded as major transit areas; Turkey is key as a distribution point; and Greece, Bulgaria and Romania are a gateway to Europe.

It is not only heroin that is transported via these routes, but cannabis, hashish and raw opium. Distribution networks for small drug quantities, money laundering, corruption and laboratory preparations crop up as accompanying crimes to drug trafficking. According to some analysts, drug crimes jeopardise security in the entire Balkans, as part of the money supplies illegal weapons to radical groups.

The trade of Afghan-grown drugs alone brings in over 2 billion euros for cartels operating along the so-called Balkan route, according to UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa. This illegal money boosts poverty, the crime rate and ends with radical groups as well.

The novelty is that the Balkans is becoming a kind of a crossroads for distribution, not only for heroin but for cocaine originating from South and Central American countries. The latest case, involving the seizure of 486kg of Venezuelan cocaine on the Macedonian border, confirms this route, which had not been used for smuggling such quantities until now.

Concerns about cocaine along the Balkan route are expressed in the World Drug Report for 2007 published by the UNODC. While 99% of cocaine shipments from South America continue to be directed towards Western Europe, some shipments to Eastern Europe and Balkan countries have been noticed by enforcement agencies.

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Setimes

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