The Global initiative against transnational organized crime report that was presented recently contains a testimony from a police officer on the Macedonian – Kosovan border, who reveals how state sponsored smuggling is organized through the Jazince border crossing.
Officials working at the border crossing are alleged to be under the control of local party officials. This is consistent with a well-established practice whereby control of border crossings is tacitly given to a political ally in return for support for the governing party. A former police officer explains: ‘After midnight, around 3 am, police and customs officers often receive orders by their bosses to shut down all cameras and to close their eyes for around half an hour. For this, of course, they get an appropriate reward. The truck which passes in this time belongs to a criminal group who divide the profit with the high officials of the Albanian ruling party.’ Not far from the official border crossing is an illegal route that is used by criminal groups who traffic goods by trucks, tractors and horses, the report reveals.
The party is not identified, but the main ethnic Albanian party in the coalition is the Democratic Union for Integration.
The report also describes how Albanian criminal gangs run the show in the capital Skopje, as well as how gangs from Veles managed to become prominent in heroin distribution across Europe.
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