The beautiful Albanian border region where gun-runners and people smugglers enter the EU | World News

There are places in Albania that are breathtakingly beautiful, blessed with soaring mountain peaks, turquoise waters or lush forests.

And sometimes, all three at the same time.

On this day we are walking through a dry riverbed, the sun is slowly setting and the mountains ahead.

On the other side of the ridge is the boundary where Albania stops and Greece begins.

And, of course, when you arrive in Greece, you’ve also entered the European Union, where visitors can roam quite freely.

That’s why this border region, with its trails and dense forests, has long been associated with smuggling, gun trafficking, human trafficking and all sorts of other cross-border crimes.

Right in sight, closer every now and then, was a cluster of broken tents.

Because this is not a story about travel, but about borders, crime, and a nation’s desperate attempt to escape its own reputation.

With me is Christian Winkler, a German police officer who now finds himself striding across this sea of ​​pebbles.

Mr. Winkler is here seconded with Frontex, Europe’s border agency.

“We saw these tents this morning from up there,” he said, pointing to some of the buildings nestled among the woods on the mountainside. “One tent isn’t suspicious, but five or six are worth seeing.”

As we approached, Mr. Winkler, an experienced and attentive man, unbuckled his gun from his belt, but let the Albanian officers lead the way. If an arrest is made, it will be by them.

But there is not. Everyone was here, but now the tents are empty. The mice were hiding from the cats.

The Frontex team in Albania includes officers from Germany, Romania, Croatia, Hungary and more.

They are there to provide experience and support, but also a demonstration that the EU takes its borders seriously.

Cristian Crainic, from Romania, said: “We work very well with our Albanian colleagues.

“Every border is very important to the European Union. We must have secure borders.”

And so we see buses have their passengers removed, scanned and then inspected with specialized equipment, while suitcases and backpacks are similarly scrubbed.

There was a time, we said, when this border leaked like an old hose, but not now.

However, the question is whether the problems have been resolved or simply replaced.

Lessons from the UK may suggest the following. From the outset, Albania’s unfortunate reputation as a criminal nexus was evident in London’s drug trade, in which Albanian gangs are in vogue.

And there are smugglers. A few years ago, the number of Albanians crossing the English Channel in small boats numbered in the dozens. It rose and rose and is now exploding.

In the first six months of this year, about one in six people arriving in the UK in a small boat were Albanians; Since then, according to former interior secretary Priti Patel, it has increased dramatically as most of the arrivals in the past few months – about 60%, she said – are from Albania.

Of course, some of these people will be legal asylum seekers. But Albania is not at war – it’s hard to avoid concluding that most of this influx is economic migrants, not refugees.

So what caused this rush?

“There are pull and push factors for Albanians,” said Saimir Boshnjaku, director of the Albanian immigration police force.

“The UK is a fascinating country for many reasons. Smugglers are trying to find the weakest point in the system, so we have to find other ways to stop them and bring them to justice. – people who are dealing with human trafficking or trafficking and bring them to court.

“Some people are abusing the system when they apply for asylum. They go there to have a better life. Maybe they have some friends or relatives, but they come for economic reasons – to have more more money in the pocket.”

And what among the organized crime gangs that bring people smugglers, blatantly publicizing their trips on social media posts?

“TikTok videos are marketing,” he tells me with a slight shrug. “They need to find as many people as possible to make money.” According to him, the war with criminal gangs is common around the world.

“They’re trying to expand their affiliation and we’re trying to send them to justice… it’s a game.”

However, it severely damaged Albania’s reputation. The people I meet here couldn’t be more welcoming or warm, but the world’s view of the country is clouded by a chronic distrust built by the actions of Albanian criminals.

Read more from Sky News:
Albanian police could be deployed to UK to help stop Channel crossings
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Raab does not deny the government wants a deal to bring migrants to Albania

On the night we arrived in Tirana, the bustling capital, the preparations for a free concert came from Rita Ora, who was born in Kosovo to Albanian parents, but was taken to London as a refugee as a child.

She is still a hero in Albania, walking on stage in a gown with the national flag and talking about her adoration for the country.

“She’s a world star and we’re so proud of her,” one concert-goer told me. He loved her, and he also loved England, a country with a “good economy and society”.

Does he want to go there?

“Everybody wants to go there,” answered.

Albania is a difficult one. A country located in Europe, but little known; a country that wants to work with its neighbors and broaden its horizons, but is still held back by its own fame and poverty (the average Britisher earns six times more than the average Albanian) .

Of the 10 million Albanians in the world, two-thirds live outside the country.

It’s a country that knows about migration and wants a better life.

It is perhaps not surprising that people left the country, and headed for the beaches of northern France, in search of a passage across the English Channel.