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According to a recent report by a joint EU watchdog, published on May 24, 2016; Europeans spend a colossal 24 billion euros ($26.8 billion) on illicit substances which, according to the report, fund crime syndicates and terrorism and“are one of the key threats to the security of the EU”.

The largest proportion of this expenditure goes to cannabis, which makes up 38% of the illegal drug market in Europe. That amounts to 9.3 billion euros ($10.4 billion). The majority of this cannabis is grown within European borders.

The US State Department has published today its report on the fight against narcotic substances and states that Albania is a major source country for the production of marijuana and a transit point for shipments of cocaine and heroin destined to the European markets.

During 2015, the report says, Albanian authorities carried out several arrests and seized a significant amount of narcotic substances by producers and drug rings that operate in the country, continuing the 2014 tendency. This success is mainly attributed to the ongoing cooperation with Italian authorities and the growing efforts of the political leadership and police.

TIRANA, Albania — Albanian police say they have destroyed a large drug network in the capital Tirana, arresting 30 people while five others remained at large.

A statement Wednesday said that following six months of investigation police arrested "organizers, coordinators and distributors of hard drugs," who had distributed drugs worth 900,000 euros ($960,000) in the last two years.

Police seized about one kilogram of heroin, 180 small packages of cocaine and a number of pistols, ammunition, cars and cell phones used by the ring members.

Halil Doda helped to grow drugs discovered at house on Newlands Road, Small Heath

AN illegal immigrant who helped to grow a cannabis farm at a house in Birmingham to pay off a debt to people smugglers has been jailed for six months.

Halil Doda tried to hide in the attic of the property which was raided by police who found 234 plants being grown with a potential value of £60,000.

Patrick Sullivan, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said officers, who executed a search warrant at the address in Newlands Road, Small Heath, on August 26 this year found cannabis being grown in all four rooms.

One contained seedlings while the other three had more mature plants.

TIRANA, Albania –  Police in southern Albania say they have seized 3.2 metric tons (7,000 pounds) of cannabis as part of a major anti-drugs operation in the Balkan country.

A statement Friday said the cannabis was found in a mountainous area near Gjirokastra, 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of the capital Tirana, and that a large quantity had already been harvested.

No arrests were made, and police named no suspects.

Once a secluded communist country, Albania has become a major cannabis producer, prompting authorities to carry out regular eradication campaigns, backed by heavily armed police squads.

Albania says its campaign against the drugs trade is going well with most of the marijuana plants in the country being destroyed.

Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said 99.2%, or 690,000 cannabis plants in 44 hectares (109 acres) seen on aerial maps, have been destroyed so far this year.

Mr Tahiri said drug growers had moved to high mountainous areas to plant cannabis, using small planes to take it abroad. 

"The fight against drugs knows no end," he said. "It has a high cost and it is extremely difficult, but it continues."

The southern European country is a major producer of the plant and the authorities started their fight against the drugs trade last year.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities said Wednesday they have destroyed almost all of the marijuana planted in the country, a major European producer of the plant.

Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said Wednesday that 99.2 percent, or 690,000 cannabis plants in 44 hectares (109 acres) identified on aerial maps, have been destroyed so far this year.

Last year, police destroyed about 550,000 cannabis plants and 102 tons of marijuana with an estimated market value at the time of 7 billion euros ($8.5 billion) — more than two-thirds of the country's annual gross domestic product.