Much of the press conference Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held today to discuss the planned domestic policies after the failure of his EU attempt was taken by journalist questions about growing crime linked with marijuana production in Macedonia. Zaev allowed the planting of marijuana to explode, issuing licenses to family members and cronies, and with the growing production came crime – two tons were stolen from a farm near Valandovo, and a 60 kilograms were stolen near Krusevo, all in a matter of ten days.
The police has been acting efficiently. One was the incident near Valandovo and Gevgelja, which was later discovered near Aracinovo. Part of it ended up in Kosovo and our security services are working to uncover this incident and bring to justice all who were involved. The same goes with Krusevo, and if such activities continue, we will continue to monitor them through the Interior Ministry, Zaev said.
After the theft of the drugs in Valandovo, it was initially reported that half of it was found in the village of Aracinovo, which is a notorious site for criminal activity. Later it was revealed that of the two tons, only 231 kilograms were found, and Zaev today said that the rest was probably repackaged and transported to Kosovo.
Regarding the incident near Krusevo, where a large cannabis oil plant was built, Zaev was asked whether it is true that a relative of Deputy Interior Minister Nazim Bushi was involved in the theft.
I am informed about all such deviant actions. This in Krusevo is the second such case. The commission that hands out cannabis licenses is investigating this, as is the Interior Ministry. This is the first time I hear about this possible involvement. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t matter who was involved, all who were involved need to be held responsible, whether they are important people in this country, or not, Zaev replied.
The licenses are issued ostensibly for production of cannabis oil. But as the drug is much more valuable on the black market, its growing production was accompanied by a predictable crime wave. During his address today, Zaev insisted that he will expand marijuana production even further, and will fully legalize it. He ignored questions about the fact that this legislative move is obviously going to benefit his family directly.
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