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Transnational Tentacles RESEARCH REPORT TRANSNATIONAL TENTACLES Global Hotspots of Western Balkan Organized Crime WALTER KEMP JULY 2020 TRANSNATIONAL TENTACLES TRANSNATIONAL TENTACLES Global hotspots of Western Balkan Organized Crime W Walter Kemp July 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is an output of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s Civil Society Observatory to Counter Organized Crime in South Eastern Europe (SEE-Obs). SEE-Obs is a platform that connects and empowers civil-society actors in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. It aims to enable civil society to identify, analyze and map criminal trends, and their impact on illicit flows, governance, development, inter-ethnic relations, security and the rule of law. SEE-Obs supports civil society in their monitoring of national dynamics, and wider regional and international organized-crime trends. SEE-Obs was launched as an outcome of the 2018 Western Balkans Summit in London, a part of the Berlin Process. This report is based on data, information and analyses collected by civil-society actors based in the Western Balkans, in particular by a group of 15 researchers and experts. We thank them for their valuable insights and contributions, and constructive engage- ment throughout the process. The research inputs were synthesized and analyzed by Walter Kemp, with the support of Fatjona Mejdini, Ugi Zvekic, Fabian Zhilla and Kristina Amerhauser. This publication was produced with the financial support of the United Kingdom’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Kingdom. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Walter Kemp is Senior Fellow at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) and directs the Civil Society Observatory to Counter Organized Crime in South Eastern Europe. Previously he was held a number of senior positions in the Organization for Security and Cooperation and Cooperation in Europe, was vice pres- ident of the International Peace Institute, and spokesman and speechwriter at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. He has written extensively on conflict prevention, the rela- tionship between crime and conflict, as well as European security issues. © 2020 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Global Initiative. Cover design: Flame Design Cartography: Paulina Rosol-Barrass Please direct inquiries to: The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Avenue de France 23 Geneva, CH-1202 Switzerland www.globalinitiative.net CONTENTS Executive summary ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1 International hotspots ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 Context: Transplantation due to upheaval �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 The communist period: Organized crime in Yugoslavia and Albania ���������������������������������������������������� 7 Albania ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������8 The Turkish connection ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 War and its aftermath...............................................................................................................................................11 Criminals on the front line ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11 Sanctions and the ‘factory of crime’ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 12 An explosion of crime on the home front ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 13 The Albanian pyramid collapses ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15 Crime and conflict in Kosovo ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 15 Mafia state ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 16 Go straight or go abroad ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17 Albanians branch out ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 Displacement and diaspora �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 Western Europe ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 22 Italy: Partners in crime ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Spain: From thieves to barons ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27 Netherlands: The ‘Joegomaffia’ �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 29 Czech Republic ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32 South Africa ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 Importing criminals ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 Krejčíř and Gavric ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 36 Settling old scores ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 37 New players in new markets? ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 39 Turkey: Gateway to the east ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������41 Close ties between Turkey and the Balkans ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41 From suitcases to trucks ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 42 Attracting trade and investment ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 43 The ‘Balkan route’ for heroin ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 44 Cannabis and skunk �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46 Smuggling of migrants ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 Latin America �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51 Roots of the cocaine groups ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 51 The attraction of Latin America �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������53 Right place at the right time �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 55 The role of the Western Balkan groups �������������������������������������������������������������������������56 The routes and modalities ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������60 Other drug-trafficking methods �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������64 A winning business model ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 Australia ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 67 Balkan ‘mafias on the move’ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������70 Conclusions ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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