However there are a lot of non-formal reports about the power of Albanian mafia in Italy, UK, Belgium etc. mainly involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and prostitution. The famous Italian journalist and author, Roberto Saviano, has stated that the Casalese Klan of the Camorra has allowed an Albanian to be in charge of part of their territory, the first time that a foreigner is given such possibility. Main causes of Albanian organized crime are: - Lack of awareness of the community about the extreme dangers and effects of the organized crime. - Maximal earning within a short period form organized criminal activities. - High level of poverty - Favourable geographic position as a gate between east and west. - Law level of reaction of state institutions to face organized crime. - Lack of necessary legal instruments in the war against organized crime. - High level of corruption in the law enforcement and judiciary. Etc. According to the European Commission Albania has shown a positive trend in the fight against organized crime in 2014, in a number of areas, with an intensification of law enforcement activities including on drug seizures and drug-related crimes, economic crime, and trafficking of human beings. In particular, the authorities have taken serious steps to fight cultivation and trafficking of cannabis, which remains a serious concern, most notably through a major police operation in the village of Lazarat and in the north of the country. International cooperation has been strengthened. Efforts in fighting organized crime need to be further stepped up, however. The cooperation between law enforcement institutions should be further improved and legislative barriers affecting the efficiency of investigations should be lifted. Albania will need sustainable efforts, combined with proactive and systematic financial investigations and consistent enforcement of legislation, to counter all kinds of criminal activities including money laundering, and trafficking of human beings and in drugs. Albania should continue acting decisively against cannabis cultivation. Fighting organized crime and corruption is fundamental for countering criminal infiltration of the political, legal and economic system85. Albania has a law on the confiscations of criminal assets aimed at the prevention and deterrence of organized crimes. However, there is still a lot to be done to effectively manage this system.
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