Ethnic Albanian rings of organised criminals and the trafficking and smuggling of human beings: an international, regional and local perspective Cover Image

Ethnic Albanian rings of organised criminals and the trafficking and smuggling of human beings: an international, regional and local perspective
Ethnic Albanian rings of organised criminals and the trafficking and smuggling of human beings: an international, regional and local perspective

Author(s): Arben Tabaku
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Nomos Verlag
Keywords: Albanian OC groups; trafficking; smuggling; re-trafficking; origin/ transit/destination country; sexual exploitation.

Summary/Abstract: Located on the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe, in a perfect situation bridging east and west, with more than three-quarters of the country mountainous and about 40% of the land forested, and with access to the Adriatic and Ionian Seas and proximity to Italy and Greece, Albania after the fall of the Communist regime and the opening of the borders became a haven for different types of trafficking. The trafficking of women and children became a major issue from the 1990s. In the period between 1997 and 2001, Albanian organised crime groups operating in western Europe reached their peak. Nowadays, Albanian OC groups continue to be involved in trafficking and smuggling of human beings. Albania is no longer an important transit or destination country, but it remains an origin country for the trafficking of young women for sexual exploitation.

  • Issue Year: 2008
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 99-109
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English