Albania among the main heroin transit countries in Europe, cocaine seizures also double

Albania is ranked by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) among the main countries of origin or transit for heroin shipments in Europe, based on reported seizure cases for the 2021-2024 period.

On the map published in the statistical annex of the World Drug Report 2026, released recently, Albania appears in the color identifying countries mentioned as the “main states of origin, or transit” for heroin shipments. (see the first map)

In Europe, alongside Albania, the same category also includes Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Outside Europe, the map includes countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, as well as several countries in Africa and Asia.

The World Drug Report 2026 stresses that the global opioid market, which includes heroin, is in a period of significant change. The drug ban in Afghanistan in 2022 sharply reduced opium and heroin production, while increased production in Myanmar has not been enough to offset the Afghan decline.

UNODC warns that markets may adapt through changes in routes, trafficking methods and, in some cases, a shift toward more powerful synthetic opioids. “A perceived or real disruption in the supply of heroin in major consumer markets will prompt traffickers to seek alternatives. This, in turn, could shift the illegal cultivation of opium poppy and the illicit production of opium to other countries, or encourage a transition to synthetic substitutes, such as fentanyls and nitazenes, or other new synthetic opioids — and possibly even to substances that are not opioids,” the report says.

Another map, doubling of cocaine seizures

In another map in the report, Albania appears among the European countries with the strongest increase in cocaine seizures in 2024. On the UNODC map, the country is marked with the color indicating a doubling or more in the quantities seized compared with 2023. This places Albania in the same category as several countries in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, where seizures rose sharply during the year. (see the second map)

The report underlines that in Western and Central Europe, cocaine trafficking has undergone significant changes. Around 2024, efforts to crack down on trafficking and international cooperation among law enforcement agencies may have forced criminal networks to adapt their routes and methods of transporting the drug.

The amount of cocaine seized increased sevenfold in the 2014-2023 period. However, in some countries, 2024 saw a decline both in the purity of cocaine on the retail market and in the quantities seized, which may signal temporary disruptions in some areas as incoming flows adjusted to new entry points.

Overall, the amount of cocaine seized in Western and Central Europe declined, while the main trafficking hubs shifted from the major ports of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands toward France, Portugal and Spain.

Cases involving the detection of cocaine shipments to Europe transported in containers declined in the main European destination countries, while increasing in South America. This suggests a global shift toward seizures closer to the drug’s countries of origin.

The number of detected container shipment cases bound for Belgium continued to rise, but the average size of the loads fell by 39%. This reflects a tendency among criminal groups to use smaller, lower-risk concealments, particularly inside refrigerated container structures.

Smaller ports also appear to be gaining importance in trafficking networks. Overall, cocaine flows toward Western and Central Europe have adapted in terms of routes, entry points and trafficking methods, but remain at high levels./Monitor