From 14-18 April, the Mission organized an advanced training on economic crimes and
financial investigation for 12 Kosovo Police officers, which was delivered by the experts of
the Turkish National Police in Turkey. Aiming to enhance the participants’ capacities to
combat financial aspects of the organized crime, the training provided them with new insight
on public tender abuse, corruption and other economic crime, informant handling, smuggling
of commodities, money laundering, seizure and confiscation, as well as the intelligence-led
policing.
Corruption
Kosovo still struggles to deal with corruption as it is still allegedly the principle difficulty in
doing business in Kosovo, and as such requires business to resort to bribery when dealing
with various officials within government or private industry. There are a number of
burdensome and costly procedures for companies to undergo in order to obtain business
licenses and permits, which lead to increased opportunities for corruption.
The activities of the Kosovo Police Anti-Corruption Special Department over the last 12
months have focused on three main areas of activity: prevention, identification and
prosecution of high-level corruption. Overall, 64 cases were either fully investigated or are
currently ongoing. There were a total of 29 arrests in 2014 compared to 12 in 2013, while
criminal charges saw a slight increase of two per cent.
From 24-28 February, the Mission delivered advanced training in anti-corruption investigation
to 16 investigators from various units of the Kosovo Police. The training aimed to enhance
the capabilities of these investigators to tackle corruption, covering relevant legal provisions
and investigation techniques. The training also covered the development of a strategic action
plan.
Drug Trafficking
With regard to narcotics, Kosovo is still regarded by international organizations as a transit
area, with drugs entering from Albania, Italy, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Turkey and Afghanistan. The majority of the narcotics trafficked in Kosovo involve heroin,
cocaine and cannabis. Cannabis is the main drug of choice in Kosovo, while cocaine and
heroin, though available, are usually trafficked over the border to other countries.
In 2014, a staggering 446 per cent increase of cocaine seizures by law enforcement agents
has been supported by a 27 per cent increase in cannabis confiscations. There has been a
decrease in heroin seizures by approximately 57 per cent but this can be viewed along with
the decline of heroin consumption in Northern Europe.
From 26-28 March, the Mission organized a three-day workshop on drug demand reduction,
bringing together the relevant stakeholders. The event included presentations, discussions
and working group sessions aimed at improving the co-operation and co-ordination of
relevant institutions in reducing drug demand through education and public awareness
raising, prevention and rehabilitation of drug addicts. The event was attended by 35
participants representing the Kosovo Police, relevant ministries, Customs, Correctional
Service, drug treatment centres and civil society.
From 8-9 October in Ohrid, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Mission
accompanied the representatives of the Kosovo Police and Kosovo Agency on Forensic to a
regional round table on “Co-operation Between Law Enforcement and Forensic Officers on
Illicit Drug Investigations in the Balkan Region”, organized by the OSCE Transnational
Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit in close collaboration with UNODC and the
OSCE Mission in Skopje. The round table covered discussion on the reports of UNODC
66
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents