US report: Balkans still a major drug transit route

03/03/2010

Due to its strategic location between narcotics producing centres in Southwest Asia and consumers in Western Europe, the Balkans remain a key route for drug trafficking, the US State Department concludes in a new report.

(Sofia News Agency, Radio Srbija - 02/03/10; US Department of State, MIA - 01/03/10)

According to the report, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey are major transit countries for narcotics. [File]

The Balkans remain a major route in moving illicit drugs from production and processing centres in Southwest Asia to markets in Western Europe, the US Department of State said in its 27th annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released on Monday (March 1st).

The first part of the more than 900-page study reviews the efforts 130 countries and jurisdictions made in 2009 to deal with domestic narcotics problems and to meet international obligations.

The second part of the report highlights the most significant steps taken by 60 nations -- categorised as "major money laundering countries" -- last year to improve their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes. Cyprus, Greece and Turkey are among the countries listed.

The report described Romania, Serbia and Turkey as major transit countries along the historic Balkan Route for drugs moving from narcotics-producing countries in the east to consumers in Europe.

Romania lies along the Northern Balkan Route for opium, morphine base and heroin moving from Afghanistan to Europe. Almost 80% of the drugs that enter the country are believed to be destined for Western Europe.

"It is believed that heroin, ecstasy and other drugs are stored in large quantities in Romania awaiting further trans-shipment," the report notes. The country also serves as a transit point for moving synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals towards Turkey and beyond to Afghanistan. There are indications that Romania might have started playing an increasing role as a trans-shipment point for South American cocaine to Western Europe, according to the report.

Despite the challenges facing the country as a result of the global financial and economic crisis, "Romanian authorities continue to work closely with US and regional counterparts for successful and effective international seizure operations," the document says.

As in Romania, only a small amount of the drugs smuggled into Serbia remain in the country for domestic consumption. While heroin is described as the most prevalent narcotic transported from Central Asia along the Balkan Route, Serbian organised crime groups are said to be increasingly smuggling cocaine from South America directly to Western Europe.

Besides being a major transit point on the route for Southwest Asian opiates moving to Europe, Turkey also "serves as a staging area for major drug traffickers and brokers", the report says. It also notes that "some processing of opium and morphine base from Afghanistan is occurring near the Turkish-Iranian border," and that many of the major traffickers based in Turkey are ethnic Kurds or Iranians.

"Large drug trafficking organisations and major traffickers based in Turkey are frequently involved in both heroin production and transportation," the authors say. "Several have also been involved in the production and/or smuggling of synthetic drugs."

Greece, which also lies on the traditional Balkan Route, was called a "gateway" country in the transit of illicit narcotics and contraband. The report's authors note that Greece's geography makes it a favoured drug trans-shipment country on the route to Western Europe.

Of the other countries on that route, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo and Montenegro were described as transit points, while Macedonia is described as "neither a major producer nor a major regional transit point for illicit drugs".

Besides being a transit country, Bulgaria is also a producer of illicit drugs, particularly amphetamine type stimulants, the report says, citing Albania as a producer of cannabis destined for markets in Europe.