(ANSA) - BELGRADE, NOV 22 - In a new report released on
Monday, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction (EMCDDA) said that criminal networks in the Western
Balkans seem to have become key players in both the regional and
EU drug markets. The Western Balkans are at the crossroads of a
number of important drug trafficking routes, such as the Balkan
route for heroin. There may also be new routes for other drugs,
such as cocaine, the EMCDDA said. These criminal networks have a
significant impact on security, governance and the rule of law
in the region. Violence associated with competition for drug
markets and control of trafficking routes is a significant
security threat. Several murders in the EU and other places have
been linked to criminal networks in the Western Balkans that
deal in drugs, especially cocaine, the report reads.
There are also rumors that members of international criminal
networks operate in the Western Balkans or work with local
criminal networks. For example, the EMCDDA said that members of
Italian and Turkish criminal networks hide out in the Western
Balkans to avoid being caught by the police. (ANSA).
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