The police of Shkodra has intensified the fight against the cultivation of narcotics in the north of the country. The deep areas of Malësi e Madhe, Dukagjini and Shala have always been a hotbed for the blue uniforms.
There have been numerous and frequent actions in recent years in this direction. Planted plants are seized and destroyed by the thousands, but the real owners of these plots are almost never found.
The deep mountainous areas, the difficulties to get to these plots are favorable elements for the cultivators to leave before they are caught by the blue uniforms.
The director of the Shkodra Police, Edmond Sulaj, talks about the great struggle of his officers for the disposal and elimination of sativa cannabis plots.
"This year our fight has been very big against cannabis sativa. We have had these successes and we have also cooperated with other instances. About 300,000 cannabis sativa plants have been destroyed so far. I take the opportunity to thank all the employees, as they have often been on the ground in very difficult conditions and should be appreciated for something like this".
Police officers are often forced to walk for hours on foot in mountainous terrain, putting themselves in danger due to the lack of conditions and being targeted by criminal elements.
The concrete case was the warning that was given to Shkodra police officers on August 21, 2024 during an action to eliminate cannabis plots.
"Around 10:00, in the place called "Bjeshka e Parus", still unidentified citizens shot in the air, with firearms, when they saw the Police services that were conducting a control of the territory in the Shkrel administrative unit, for the prevention , the identification and suppression of the cultivation of narcotic plants"
This is only one side of the coin. The fear of being spotted from the field is much smaller than the leakage of information that occurs when orders are received for actions to destroy narcotic plants. Here, we must not forget the betrayal that can come from the area officers, or colleagues within the group.
"We are afraid of our colleagues. Fear of cowards who terrorize our families to threaten police officers. What is wrong with our families? We are afraid of those faces, colleagues, who come the day after the assassination and cry comforting us, while the day before they sold us to criminals by giving them information about where we live, where we drink coffee and even the itinerary of where we are moving". says an anonymous policeman.
The police officer in the Shkodra District has made strong accusations against his colleagues. He sees betrayal as the main cause that leads them through the ambushes of those who buy and bribe incriminated colleagues.
“Shkodra është një ambient shumë i vështirë për të punuar policët. Ka shumë ndikim krimi dhe ka lidhje të drejtpërdrejta të policëve me këto persona që kanë pushtet kriminal. Janë disa faktorë që ndikojnë në dorëzimin e policëve përpara ligjit të rrugës, pasi kushtet e vështira në të cilat punonjë, pagat e ulëta, bëjnë që policët të joshen nga ana e errët. Madje të shesin dhe njëri-tjetrin. Nuk bëjnë aspak mire, por është realitet që ndodh”, thotë Sadedin Fishta, kreu i sindikates se policëve të pavarur.
Rrjedhja e informacionit nuk është dicka që nuk njihet në radhët e policisë, nga nivelet e larta drejtuese, madje deri tek ato më të ulëta. Kjo ka dalë hapur në dosjet e SKY EÇ që janë zbardhur në të tjera investigime. Dicka të tillë e ngriti si shqetësim dhe kreu i SPAK, Altin Dumani, kur foli përpara KLP (Këshillit të Lartë të Prokurorisë).
“Hetimet tona kanë treguar që eksponentë të policisë së shtetit, madje me funksione të larta kanë bashkëpunuar me krimin e organizuar, referuar dhe çështjeve që kemi hetuar, dhe çështjeve që kemi në hetim e sipër”.
Në vazhdën e akuzave për inkriminimin e Policisë nga ana e Dumanit, efektivi ynë i intervistuar në anonimat ngre akuza tepër të forta për policët e zonave. Ai thotë se janë pikërisht këta të fundit që shesin kolegët e tyre dhe u japin të gjithë informacionet e nevojshme kultivuesve të drogës për grupin e policëve që u asgjesojnë bimët narkotike.
“Nje SPZ ka informacion per cdo gje qe ndodh ne zonen qe mbulon,qofte ndertim pa leje,qofte person ne kerkim,qofte dhe parcela me kanabis. Nje SPZ mbron personin ne kerkim duke i thene ik se sot do vim kontroll banese,mos dil se ka kontrolle deri dhe mbille ketu se nese te vjen avionic, me kordinatat e guarda di financa, ti shkulim 10 bime e ti bejme foto dhe pjesen tjeter mbaje. Nje polic me 6 muaj pune nuk e njeh zonen,nuk e njeh territorin dhe nuk ka gje ne dore, por shiten dhe çohen viktima duke u bere mbulese, mashe, per tradhtaret e vertete”, thotë një polic në anonimat.
“Nuk mund të them se ka rrjedhje informacioni. AMP po bën një punë shumë të mire në monitorimin e rasteve apo atyre elementëve që nuk i bëjnë nder policisë së shtetit, por në kushtet që jemi po bëhet maksimumi i mundshëm”, thotë drejtori i policisë së Shkodrës, Edmond Sulaj.
Efektivi i policisë tregon dhe rastet kur ka qenë vetë pjesëmarrës në aksion dhe është shitur nga policët e zonave. Madje i gjithë grupi është tradhtuar prej tyre duke u dhënë pronarëve të parcelave informacionet e plota se kush nga efektivët ka marrë pjesë në aksion.
“Kemi pasur raste kur njerezit na kane marre ne tel duke patur informacionin e sakte se kush ka shkuar ne parcele, kush eshte drejtues grupi,kush eshte shofer dhe kush i ka vene flaken bimeve
Nga ka rrjedh ky informacion? Drejtori policise nuk e din kush ja ka vene flaken bimeve te shkulura,por tradhtohemi nga spz qe kemi me vete
They send sms to the growers that so-and-so did, so-and-so was done. Unfortunately, one of the best guys in the Shkodër police, Gjergj Ndershtiqaj, is struggling with time because he risks being left with the consequences of the assassination," says a policeman anonymously.
The situation seems dramatic in the ranks of the police of Shkodra, as long as the officers do not trust each other. This is only the first and heaviest blow to the image of the blue uniforms, because in such conditions it is utopian for citizens to have the necessary confidence to provide information about illegal activities that they may know.
"It has often happened to us when going to the plots that the spz diverts the road and does not take us to the given place, because in one work group 4-5 people do not know the terrain without the help of the spz
A spz has had cases that on the way to the plots, as we were getting ready to enter the plots, they spoke loudly just to signal the growers that we are coming and to leave. As far as I know, there are a lot of threats from colleagues, threats are made face to face and our lives are at risk. In Shkoder, something doesn't work on purpose, unfortunately. How can a work group travel 12 hours in a field where only God protects us, and find 10-15 plants, while in the fields below Shkodra there are plots with thousands of roots", says a policeman anonymously.
At the moment when the policemen betray and expose each other, what can they do with the citizens? Alarm bells have been ringing for years in Shkodër...