Kosovo drug dealers cooperate with criminal scene

Kosovo drug dealers cooperate with criminal scene, firms-Komorous
CTK National News Wire - November 23, 2005 Wednesday 8:40 AM (Central European Time)

By: RTJ

DATELINE: PRAGUE, Nov 23 (CTK) - The Czech National Drug Squad (NPC) has managed to eliminate several groups of Kosovo Albanian heroin traffickers, but Kosovo Albanians have upgraded their conspiracy methods and continue to be the main drug importers to the Czech Republic, Jiri Komorous says in Hospodarske noviny today.

"Kosovo Albanians, along with Turkish citizens, keep their position as the main and exclusive importers of heroin to the Czech Republic as well as to the whole of Europe," Komorous, NPC director, says in the daily.

The Czech Republic is as important to the organised crime gangs as the other comparable European countries with a functioning economy and liberal foreigner policy. Kosovo Albanians continue to use the Czech Republic as both a transit and destination country for their shipments of drugs, mainly heroin and cocaine, Komorous says.

"The arrest of compatriots always meets with great response in the Kosovo community. Some temporarily reduce their illegal activities," Komorous says.

"Our actions make the other perpetrators upgrade their conspiracy," he adds.

In the past year, the NPC managed to eliminate several groups of Kosovo Albanian heroin dealers who operated in the Czech Republic for many years in big secrecy. They used specially arranged cars to transport drugs. They were caught transporting many kilograms of very pure heroin, Komorous says.

The continuing problem is the language barrier and the perpetrators' rising conspiracy, he says.

Asked whether the NPC has ever registered any ties between the Kosovo Albanian gangs and Kosovo politicians or the then Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) of local rebels, Komorous says that during the Kosovo crisis the NPC had information about the UCK being financed from the heroin trafficking. According to the information, drug dealers paid a part of their profit to the UCK.

"It was eventually confirmed that the people who were internationally investigated over drug delicts significantly contributed to the financing of the UCK through humanitarian organisations," Komorous says.

"It is very probable that the Kosovo Albanians who have integrated with the Czech society partly invest their revenues from drug deals in legal businesses. We closely cooperate on uncovering this with the police units dealing with economic crime," Komorous says.

Kosovo Albanians often cooperate with the Czech criminal scene and business companies, he adds.