Albania's interior minister today said police had destroyed 102 tonnes of cannabis worth the equivalent of 60 percent of the country's annual economic output in the past six months.
The hauls, seized since March, had an estimated market value of USD 8.2 billion, Saimir Tahiri told reporters.
"Albanian police also destroyed more than 2,000 fields of cannabis and more than 530,000 plants," he said.
During these operations 1,762 people were arrested or interrogated while some 190 are still being sought by police, the minister said.
Police in many countries have said that Albania is Europe's leading cannabis producer.
"We have decided to continue the fight against the narcotics but we could already say that Albania is not a hub for drugs trafficking any more," Tahiri said.
