GI-TOC: Heroin arrives in Montenegro by ships from Iran, Pakistan, Turkey...

Heroin from Iranian, Pakistani and Turkish ports arrives directly to the Adriatic ports of Montenegro, Albania, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) showed.

According to a report on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the drug market in Southeast Europe, the sea route for smuggling heroin, which includes Montenegro, is of increasing importance.

"The role of ports and maritime routes across the Black Sea has increased over the last decade, with increasing seizures in Turkish, Georgian, Ukrainian, Romanian and Bulgarian ports between 2015 and 2021, suggesting that heroin flows from Afghanistan and Iran are not following predetermined routes are already constantly changing. Of particular importance is the additional maritime route that, going around the Balkan Peninsula, delivers heroin from Iranian, Pakistani and Turkish ports directly to the Adriatic ports of Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. For example, in In the Slovenian port of Kopar, authorities seized 1,2 tons of heroin in less than two years, with the substance usually being shipped from Iranian and Pakistani ports," says the GI-TOC report, RTCG reports.

Previous research by GI-TOC indicates that the price of one kilogram of cannabis grown in the Western Balkans increases by 200-300 euros for each state border crossed, and the retail price rises in a similar manner.

"For example, in January 2023, one gram of cannabis grown in the Western Balkans and entering Romania from Serbia is sold for between 7 and 9 euros, or 30-40 percent more than the average price in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Although Ukraine is not a traditional target market for cannabis grown in Southeast Europe, applying such logic to the retail price of Southeast European cannabis sold in Ukraine, the likely price would be €8-10 per gram." the report states.

As noted, recent studies conducted by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) show that the war in Ukraine may alter existing drug trafficking routes from and through Ukraine and exacerbate the instability that enables trafficking and drug production, including areas not directly connected or exposed to hostilities.

Trauma from the conflict may also have an impact on current and future patterns of drug use in war-affected communities, which could create new opportunities for both domestic and foreign drug traffickers to meet this growing demand, the paper said.

"The South East European region represents a relatively small market for drug consumption and represents only a small amount of drug production and supply (primarily cannabis) to EU markets. However, its strategic location between East and West – and proximity to the conflict in Ukraine – may mean that it is particularly exposed the effects of the war on the modus operandi of smugglers and smuggling routes through the region," the report stated.