Albania's institutional war against organized crime and terrorism

• Author: Arben Shehu
• Position: University of Tirana Albania
• Pages: 6-12

6

Vol. 5 No.2

September, 2019

Balkan Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

ISSN 2410-759X

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

Albania's institutional war against organized crime and terrorism

Arben Shehu

University of Tirana Albania

Abstract

Organized crime groups continue to benefi t from Albania's location as a transit country, which

is a ected by the tra cking of heroin from Asia to the Balkans to Western European countries.

Drug tra ckers, according to international reports, appear to be taking an increasing role in

the fi nancing and distribution of heroin outside Albania, especially in the northern Balkans

and Western Europe.

Despite this reality, Albania has implemented a number of appropriate policies and strategies

in recent years, which have also been praised by international reports. As every state Albania

also in its entirety needs development, fair trade, promotion of citizen's rights and freedoms,

so it needs rules.There is a need for an economy free from tra cking and lawlessness, for

territories rich in legitimate social relations and for the benefi t of the community.

It is clear from that the institutional authorities should consider the way in which these

organizations operate in order to combat but above all prevent the development of these

activities. No commitment, even huge fi nancial resources will not produce positive e ects if

the state and public institutions in general will not be able and will not act in such a way as to

convey the public trust necessary for the free and orderly development of social life. This is

a challenge for the state to win, because it must be able to win, but also because the younger

generation is looking forward to living in a be er world.

Keywords: organized, crime, terrorism, institutions.

Organized crime

The term "organized crime" has been widely used since the beginning of the last

century to known criminal groups in the 30s and 40s, Al Capone et al. However, there

have always been other examples of criminal groups operating in a new, organized

and relatively disciplined structure. Originally, this term was used by a small circle,

but was later conceived as a designation for larger criminal organizations.

The oldest multinational concept of organized crime (1998) formally defi ned in

a document that has the power of international law is the defi nition of criminal

organization in Joint Action adopted at EU level1:

"A criminal organization means a structured association, created for a given period of

time, with the participation of three or more persons, acting in a coordinated manner,

with the purpose of commi ing criminal o enses punishable by deprivation of liberty

or an order isolation, for at least 4 years, or with an even more severe punishment,

when these o enses constitute an end in themselves, or a means of achieving material

gain, or, where appropriate, of unduly infl uencing, operating public authorities.”

Council of Europe - in its Recommendation Rec (2001) 11, dated 19. 09. 2001, adopted

1 Quoted in Council of Europe Report on the Situation of Organized Crime and Economic Crime in Southeast

Europe, Strasbourg, August 2006, Albanian version, p. 11.