Daesh in Albania…dealing with the mafia and drug traffickers

There is a lot of logistical assistance provided by Daesh to its members inside their prison in Albania, newspaper reported. The “Siteintelgroup” website published a picture for Daesh to be published in Albanian-language media.

Fatmir Xhafaj, the Albanian Minister of the Interior, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, received Thomas Greminger, the Secretary General of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and discussed the joint cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism in the country.

The Albanian community was shocked by the travel of many of its citizens to Iraq and Syria to join the ranks of the terrorist organization. Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati revealed the involvement of a number of Albanians in acts of violence.

There were also videos on the Web showing young Albanians ripping their passports after they joined to Daesh.

In May 2017, the Serious Criminal Court sentenced Almir Daci to 15 years in prison for recruiting a number of young Albanians. Daci was the imam of a mosque in the village of Lishanis in Bogradic, near the capital of Tirana.

Albanian factors attract Daesh

Daesh chose a Balkan country to spread its extremist ideology, as it was a criminal group; it united with the Albanian mafia – the world’s most famous mafia gang. Daesh is heavily financed on drugs, which attracts them to Albania, the first source of cannabis in Europe.

Daesh is raising cash for its campaign by running cannabis farms and shipping the drug to Europe.

Daesh has seized control of Mafia marijuana growing operation in the rural mountains of Albania – giving it a foothold in Europe.

Corruption has been attributed to the prison system in Albania. In 2013, seven prisoners were able to escape from the heavily guarded prison of Drenov, north of the capital Tirana, which explains the mutual support between members of Daesh inside and outside prisons.

Reviving the alleged jihad

Some extremist currents joined to the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a claim of defending the Muslims, they help in spreading radicalism in the Balkans, especially Albania, which posed a threat to their identity and culture. The returnees from Albania were tried before the military judiciary.

“In what marked a critical phase in the group’s evolution, there was to be a new focus on exporting chaos to Europe” Dr. Saeed Sadek, a professor of political science at the American University, said to the reference.

Sadek added the organization was using the old history of extremist groups on the Balkan Peninsula to renew the return to the region. The weakness and marginalization of Muslims in Europe made them more willing to adopt extremist ideas and engage in these groups.

The drug trafficking, is one of the most important sources of attraction for the Daesh, Sadek said.