The sky was clear that morning, when the journalist Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), at the beginning of November, started cycling from Virpazar to Albania, with the intention of visiting the villages of Crmnica, areas where her ancestors walked for centuries.
The sun warmed gently, as it does in late autumn, as she passed neatly tended vineyards that stood out in contrast to the wild blackberry and asparagus bushes on the way to the village. She reached her great-grandfather's old stone house. The warmth and the shore of the lake painted in shades of green, gold and copper were the inspiration to continue along the panoramic road along the edge of Lake Skadar.
From the narrow and winding road, fishing villages and islands with monasteries could be seen in the distance. She reached the village of Ckla. A newly paved macadam road caught her attention. She followed it for about a kilometer and ended up in a dead end.
She took another path, which is on the left side of the broken macadam road. Thorny branches and cracked sticks lined the path, and between the tree trunks you could see the lake, now in many shades of blue. The path was about 800 meters long and at the very end there was a small shop. She went in to buy a bar of chocolate, with hazelnuts, to recover from the long journey, to gather strength to continue the trip.
Only at the cash register, when the seller asked for 200 drugs, did she realize that she was in Albania. The seller explained that it is located in the village of Zogaj. Confused, she decided to immediately go back to the territory of Montenegro.
There were no signs or signals along the road to warn travelers of the proximity of the interstate border or border crossing.
The lake was now on the right, and in the short day the sun was already setting for the mountains on the left. Then a team of tourists from Italy who were moving in the opposite direction came by. They headed from Montenegro to Skadar, where they intended to arrive before dark.
"We started from Rome and are enjoying a tour through the Balkan countries", said the younger people, whose identity is known to the editorial office of CIN-CG. They said that the route that goes from Virpazar to Shkodër is very attractive and popular for tourists - cyclists, who cross the Balkan countries. "We know about this road. It was recommended to us by friends who previously passed through here without any problems and border control, so they passed on information to others about how they can enter Albania from Montenegro, through this crossing".
A few days later, when they returned to Italy, the same tourists told the journalist that they crossed the border, that there was no control by the police and that they also had no problems when leaving Albania, just like their friends before them. , who passed on the experience to them.
That the borders of Montenegro are porous is also confirmed by the case Alija Balijagić who is suspected of a double murder in the town of Sokolac, near Bijelo Polje, wanted for 27 days by the authorities and finally arrested in the village of Goleša near Priboj in Serbia.
The borders with Albania are also permeable on water. And different roads, land and those across the lake and Bojana, can be used not only by tourists hungry for wild beauty, but people and various goods are smuggled through them, and poaching is also carried out, because many checkpoints are without border control and other police forces.
The unprotected borders of Skadar lake
The borders of Lake Skadar are often unprotected by the Maritime Unit of the Border Police Sector (PJ). This is evidenced by the official notes of the supervisor of the Skadar Lake National Park (NP), which the editorial office of CIN-CG had access to. They clearly show that during the year 2024, PJ repeatedly refused assistance on the water due to the lack of vessels or officers. In such situations, unarmed NP guards face poachers, who often flee into Albanian territorial waters. When poachers illegally cross the border with Albania, they are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Montenegrin police, as well as the NP supervisor.
The Police Administration (UP) did not directly answer for CIN-CG why the border with Albania is not under constant control. Instead, they gave general information: "to carry out daily supervision and control", and "to engage additional patrols from the regular composition of the Border Police Station of the Regional Center and Podgorica", that members of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FROTEX): "provide assistance to the vessel in the form of joint patrols", then to: "carry out joint patrols with police officers of the border police of the Republic of Albania on the territory of that country as well as on the territory of Montenegro"...
"The boating unit of the police provides assistance to supervisors on Lake Skadar in any case in which there is an imminent and real threat to the workers of NP Skadar Lake, in the case of immediate prosecution of perpetrators of crimes or misdemeanors, protection of people's lives and property, and in accordance with the Law on Internal Affairs. Therefore, in these situations, police officers provide assistance according to the procedure agreed with the Administration of NP Skadarsko jezero."
In spite of these powers, at the beginning of February, during the inspection of a suspicious vessel, NP supervisors suffered physical injuries from the persons they intercepted. The attackers were sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting an official, but were acquitted of poaching charges.
A customs officer, with many years of experience working on the border with Albania, who asked to remain anonymous, claims for CIN-CG that there is no adequate protection on the lake: "Fish are caught next to police officers because they do not react, even when eyewitnesses to the hunt are present with aggregates and lamps". He points out that although everyone knows this, and it has been reported several times, investigations are not initiated.
The Department for Internal Police Control at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro (MUP) tells CIN-CG that in the past five years, that department has carried out one control over the work of a police officer of the Maritime Unit of the Border Police Sector in the waters of Lake Skadar.
The control was carried out in mid-March 2023, after a complaint related to one PJ officer. "It has been confirmed that there is a well-founded suspicion that the police officer committed a serious breach of official duty in the sense of non-performance or negligent or untimely or negligent performance of official duties," reads the response of the Department of Internal Control.
They add that the report of that case with the files created in the internal control procedure was submitted to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica for further proceedings, but they were informed in February that the ODT rejected the criminal complaint.
Unofficial border crossings and (un)confiscated narcotics
According to the data of the Customs Administration of Montenegro, for almost five years, from 2020 to December 1, 2024, 14,3 kilograms of heroin and 1.955 kilograms of cocaine were seized at official border crossings, which is worth tens of millions of euros on the market. On the other hand, according to the data of the Police Administration, in the past four years and nine months, marijuana was seized at unofficial border crossings, but cocaine and heroin were not confiscated.
That the routes for the smuggling of various narcotics lead precisely through illegal roads, which bypass the official border crossings by land, and across the sea and Lake Skadar, was warned in the report: Assessment of the threat of serious and organized crime for 2024 (SOCTA), which is for EUROPOL created an interdepartmental national team made up of representatives of the intelligence and security sector and the Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP). There is no end to the ingenuity of smugglers, so the report states that in the past year there have even been cases of opiates being transported by drone.
There are interesting data from the Customs Administration which state that from 2020 to December of this year at the official land border crossing with Albania - Božaj there was no seizure of cocaine and heroin, and at the second crossing Sukobin there was also no seizure of heroin, but cocaine was seized, on two occasions. but symbolic. Once they found 10,3 grams and the second time 1,17 grams.
These data are in disagreement with the SOCTA report, which states that the dominant criminal activity of high-risk organized crime groups (OCG) from Montenegro is cocaine smuggling at the international level. According to the same document, Montenegro retained the role of a transit country for the smuggling of all types of narcotics, which is carried out both by the OKG from Montenegro and by the OKG from the region, primarily Albania. The report also stated that the presence and connection with the local OKG of foreign groups, especially from Turkey, Georgia, Russia and other countries, was registered.
Although they did not have a single seizure of cocaine or heroin, the Police Administration for CIN-CG says that the border police have all the information about the roads that can be used to cross the state demarcation line freely, without checks by the border police.
"Most of those roads where it was possible to cross the state border with motor vehicles are obstructed by two or more obstacles", say the UP and claim that increased monitoring of the most endangered routes suitable for illegal crossing of the state border is continuously being carried out.
However, in the response to CIN-CG, the UP states that the specificity of the territory of Montenegro must also be taken into account: "the length of the state border in relation to the total area of the state territory, as well as the fact that a certain number of roads cross the border line, while mountain ranges make it difficult to monitor the green borders".
The most seized marijuana
The SOCTA report indicates that the official border crossings are bypassed by illegal roads through the green border area, so marijuana is also transported on foot in specially prepared bags.
When it comes to confiscation of marijuana, according to UP data, from the beginning of 2020 to October 1 of this year, 3.142 kilograms of marijuana/skunk were seized at illegal crossings.
From the beginning of 2020 to December 01, 2024, customs officials confiscated 5.854 kg of marijuana/skank at the official crossings. About 1.500 kilograms of marijuana were taken only through two crossings with Albania, at Božaj and Sukobin.
However, the SOCTA report warns that Albania continues to produce the most marijuana in this part of Europe. "The new marijuana plantations in the north of Albania have made it easier for the Montenegrin and regional OKG to access producers of this type of narcotics. On the territory of Albania, marijuana is mainly grown in several regions, the most important of which are Kruja, Shkodër and Valona."
This document also states that overland smuggling routes are used to transport marijuana through Montenegro and that active transport through the water area of Lake Skadar is expressed.
The boat unit on the Bojana River often does not respond to poaching with current
It seems that the situation is not better when it comes to the Bojana river, which forms the Montenegrin-Albanian border with its 23-kilometer course. Controls are often absent, which is most noticeable when it comes to poaching. Two reliable CIN-CG sources, who wish to remain anonymous in order not to expose themselves to risks, have confirmed that the Boat Unit on the Bojana River often does not react to poaching with electricity, which is carried out in the Montenegrin part of the waters of that river.
"At Bojana, you fish with electricity 50 meters from the police patrol. The police officers do not react, it seems that they are not interested and do not go out," a fisherman from Ulcinj, whose identity is known to the editorial office, told CIN-CG.
This was confirmed in an interview with CIN-CG by a person who has worked for a long time in the security sector of Montenegro and knows well the conditions in Ulcinj.
"I believe that it is possible to provide control, if there is will. The same staff has been engaged in that workplace for decades." He points out that in order to better and more effectively monitor the state border on the waters of the Bojana River, new people should be hired for those jobs, who would refresh and improve the work of that border unit.
However, in the past five years, the Department for Internal Control of the Police has not had disciplinary or other types of procedures when it comes to the supervision of officers of the Border Navigation Unit on the Bojana River.
Smuggling of tobacco
The SOCTA document states that, in addition to the official border crossings, the smuggling of cigarettes and cut tobacco also takes place across the Bojana River. "At the navigable border of the Bojana river, smuggling takes place by boats, which transport cigarettes mostly at night or in the morning from Albania to Montenegro in the area of Fraskanjela, and then according to a pre-arranged plan, citizens of Albania or Montenegro pick them up and take them to the interior of the territory in vehicles of Montenegro", says the SOCTA report.
The Customs Administration for CIN-CG says that from the beginning of 2020 to December 1, 2024, a total of over one and a half billion cigars, worth about 205 million euros, and 55.289 kilograms of cut tobacco were seized at the official border crossings. of over three million euros. When it comes to the official land border crossings with Albania, 168 kg of cut tobacco and 400 cigarettes were seized in Božaj, while 30 kg of cut tobacco and 546 cigars were confiscated in Sukobin.
At illegal crossings, in almost the same period, the police confiscated 14.052 kilograms of tobacco and 11.661 packs of cigars.
The SOCTA report states that the smuggling of cigarettes at official border crossings was made possible by the infiltration of members of criminal structures into the ranks of the security sector, the legal regulations that define the functioning of the Free Zone of the Port of Bar, as well as the financial power possessed by organized criminal groups operating in the business of cigarette smuggling.
The majority of tobacco products are destined for European Union countries, but a certain amount remains on the territory of Montenegro. According to the estimate of SOCTA, due to the distribution and sale of smuggled tobacco products on the territory of our country, the damage caused to the budget is as much as 0,52 percent of the total GDP.
One third of the staff of the border police is missing, there is no paper for photocopying
The Police Administration informed CIN-CG that they have problems with personnel in the Border Police Sector, which is now only 68 percent full. The SOCTA report also talks about this problem and points out that at the end of 2023, only 1.075 jobs in the border police were filled, out of the predicted 1.514. Therefore, almost one third of the border officers are missing, i.e. about 500 people.
"In order to replace the missing number of officers, especially at the border with the state of Albania, in order to better control migratory movements, during the tourist season we had the engagement of the Army of Montenegro, through mixed patrols with our officers," said the Police Administration for CIN-CG. They also point out that the basic condition for quality performance of work is the establishment of modern surveillance systems and technology, and an adequate number of engaged police officers.
"The missing number of officers is compensated through the use and development of modern systems and the procurement of equipment, through projects with international partners, exchange of information and strengthening of capacities for independent conduct of investigations," it says in the responses of the Police Administration.
This was noticed by the European Commission (EC), which in the Report for Montenegro for 2024 recognizes that the equipment for border management is gradually being improved, but that it relies heavily on the support of the European Union (EU) and other donors.
An unofficial interlocutor from the Customs Administration says that due to the lack of basic equipment, even at official border crossings, officers often have to carry their own papers for photocopying documents that are necessary for their work, because the border police are not always provided with that either.
On her way back, the journalist crossed the border again without any problems. The November sun was already getting tired and getting ready to set. A long late autumn night was approaching, at the crossing where there is no lighting. What a boon for smugglers. In the end, when she arrived in Montenegro, she ate chocolate from Albania, but she could have brought anything even on that clear day, in the basket of her bicycle. There was no control from either side.
Illegal migration and people smuggling
According to the latest data from the mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in the first nine months of 2024, 2.323 illegal entries of migrants were registered in Montenegro.
When it comes to illegal routes, the Police Administration informed CIN-CG that 2020 persons were charged with misdemeanors for illegally crossing the state border in 229, and 239 a year later. In 2022, the number increased significantly, as many as 511 migrants were processed is due to illegal border crossing. The growth trend continues, so during 2023, 616 persons responded, and during this year, so far, 873 of them.
Most migrants from Afghanistan try to cross the Montenegrin border illegally, followed by those from Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, Iraq, Syria and Palestine.
During 2024, border police officers filed 137 criminal charges (117 independently and 20 in cooperation with other organizational units of the Police Administration) against 159 persons.
In the Report on the analysis of the impact assessment of the regulations, carried out by the MUP, it is recognized that the contract with FRONTEX will have positive implications for conducting negotiations in the area of the rule of law, i.e. Chapter 24, especially in the area of migration and border security, and that it will Montenegrin border police officers receive appropriate expert support, training, and technical assistance.
"The main indicators of the regulations are: a reduced number of illegal crossings in Montenegro, an increased number of information exchanged with the EU in the area of external borders and an increased number of resolved cases of illegal crossings compared to the previous period," says the MUP report.
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