 |
| Drug dealer while being interviewed in Tirana |
Euronews Albania talked to a young man who is a drug dealer in Tirana. He points out that this "business" started early, with the aim of almost all those who enter into this illegal trade; to make money and today he says he manages to earn up to 300 euros in one single day.
"Economy, I needed money when I was 18, like any young person who wont to make money quickly, without getting too tired, there was a demand. Of the people, of the young people most, the age of 17, 18 to 25 years old who had the most demand, then there are the older ones, but these are the ones who use it the most. More cocaine is required, very little hashish, but recently the drug that is in high demand has entered, especially from women", says the seller.
Neli Demi, a psychiatrist, says that drug use starts from addiction or "the psychological need of every individual to consume a substance which causes a certain temporarily pleasurable effect."
"For the individual, this effect can be a kind of relaxation, a kind of calming, raising mood or situations of euphoria and self-confidence can cause some substances because the substances are different, there are some that are calming, depressing, and there are some that stimulate the increase in self-confidence and self-esteem and the euphoria, cocaine..." he said.
Only in 2019, in QSUT, the only center with a toxicology service in the country, 850 people were presented for first aid. If we were to simplify the figure, we count 70 people in a month. In other words, every day 2 people have sought medical help in the hospital, after consuming narcotics. Most of them use cocaine, as drinking hashish seems to be more under the control of users and they rarely end up in the hospital.
But how is cocaine secured, which is then traded so freely on the country's roads? Our character tells us that securing doses by hand goes from acquaintance to acquaintance.
"When I secured it, I have a person who sells like this but I can not tell him and to find customers it is very simple, that he talks to a friend, that friend knows another friend, the reputation spreads even when you have one thing it's good that they don't leave, and that's how the number of custumers is increased", he says.
State police members tell us that there are two ways in which narcotics distributors operate, in groups and individually.
"There are two forms of distribution, we have the case when there are two or more people, so they work in groups", says Maringlen Beqo, head of Anti-Drugs in Tirana.
Our character tells us that even the corrupt police officers give a hand here.
"Pagatto', the main Police Officer is paid, this he let me work for a while,,, or otherwise you will be arrested...", the cocaine dealer says.
But no less a problem than cocaine is the use of hashish in our country. Being classified as a lighter drug, its spread is greater. The most common distributors you find on the streets are those of hashish. Such is our second character. He shows in which groups he sells the most hashish.
It has followed the same path followed by almost all distributors. He started it himself at the age of 18 and then thought of using it as a job.
Our character tells us how much narcotics cost and how it is then divided into single doses, to be traded to third parties.
"It depends on the progress of work, there are cases we get 1 kg, and in other cases 10. It is sold in small doses, 5 thousand ALL, 10 thousand ALL." Yes, there are cases when 200-300 thousand lek are made during the day, not more", he confesses.
He has been dealing with this illegal trade for years, so the fear of the police has faded.