US embassy cable - 05VIENNA2608

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002608 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
STATE FOR INR/I, INR/EU, INL, EUR/PPG, EUR/AGS, AND EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2015 
 
TAGS: PINR, SNAR, AU 
SUBJECT: C-CN5-00226: ALBANIAN CRIMINAL GROUPS IN AUSTRIA 
 
REF: STATE 81736 
 
Classified By: ACTING ECONOMIC-POLITICAL COUNSELOR MICHAEL DE TAR 
 
REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1.  (C)  Below is Post's response to C-CN5-00226 on Albanian 
 
organized crime. 
 
2.  (C)  What is the nature and extent of Albanian organized 
 
criminal activity in Austria? 
 
-- Post's information on ethnic Albanian organized crime 
 
elements operating in Austria derives largely from its 
 
Austrian law enforcement contacts.  According to these GoA 
 
sources, organized criminal activity by ethnic Albanians is 
 
increasing in Austria.  In its 2004 annual report, the 
 
Austrian Ministry of Interior's Criminal Intelligence Unit 
 
reported that "Albania and Kosovo are gaining in importance 
 
as depositories and as operations bases for shipments of 
 
heroin to the EU."  Austria is a transit country for drug 
 
trafficking originating primarily along the historic Balkan 
 
Route and, according to the Austrian Criminal Intelligence 
 
Unit, organized criminal elements from Albania and Kosovo are 
 
actively involved in heroin smuggling along this route. 
 
-- According to information from the Austrian Federal 
 
Criminal Investigation Service (Bundeskriminalamt or BKA), 
 
Albanian drug traffickers are known to recruit ethnic 
 
Albanians or Austrian citizens of Albanian descent living in 
 
Austria to transport heroin and other illicit drugs though 
 
Austria.  The individuals recruited often have vehicles with 
 
Austrian or EU license plates, which are usually not 
 
scrutinized as intently by Austrian and EU border authorities 
 
as vehicles with non-EU license plates.  DEA Vienna's BKA 
 
colleagues report that, as in other European countries, 
 
ethnic Albanians in Austria often operate in a tightly knit 
 
community and rely closely on relatives to staff command and 
 
control operations within their criminal organizations.  In 
 
addition, BKA notes that ethnic Albanian and Turkish 
 
narcotics traffickers often work closely together. 
 
-- Note: Albania is not in the Embassy Vienna Legatt's area 
 
of responsibility, and Albania only came under the area of 
 
responsibility for the Department of Homeland Security office 
 
at Embassy Vienna in May 2005.  Embassy Vienna's Drug 
 
Enforcement Agency office continues to have a strong and 
 
active relationship with its Austrian counterparts, but only 
 
a small fraction of DEA's joint cases with Austria in 2004 
 
and 2005 involved ethnic Albanians. 
 
-- In July 2005, Embassy Vienna's Legatt office hosted a one 
 
day seminar for Austrian law enforcement officials in Vienna. 
 
The theme of this year's seminar, at Austria's request, was 
 
Albanian organized crime.  Post's Legatt office brought in 
 
FBI experts from the U.S. and Europe to discuss trends and 
 
patterns in Albanian organized criminal activity in the 
 
United States, including how these groups finance their 
 
activities and launder money. 
 
3.  (U)  Have there been any notable criminal cases in 
 
Austria involving ethnic Albanian criminal elements? 
 
-- In March 2005, Austrian police, in cooperation with Czech 
 
and German law enforcement officials, detained two members of 
 
a drug trafficking ring headed by an ethnic Albanian, 
 
according to press reporting.  The traffickers were involved 
 
in transporting cocaine from the Netherlands to Austria and 
 
the Czech Republic. 
 
-- In October 2004, Austrian police in Salzburg disrupted a 
 
Kosovo-based narcotics network, according to press reporting. 
 
This resulted in 17 arrests and the confiscation of 170 kg 
 
of heroin worth an estimated twelve million euros. 
 
-- In June 2004, according to press, law enforcement 
 
officials from Austria, DEA, and several other European 
 
countries cooperated in a police investigation in which 
 
Slovak authorities arrested an Albanian cocaine trafficker. 
 
The trafficker was one of the main organizers of a network 
 
that imported cocaine from South American into Slovakia. 
 
4.  (U)  What is the nature and extent of Austrian and 
 
Albanian Government cooperation on crime and crime-related 
 
issues? 
 
-- Austria is politically and economically active in Albania, 
 
and continues to strengthen its bilateral ties to Albania. 
 
In April 2005, Albanian Foreign Minister Kastriot Islami made 
 
his first official visit to Austria and met with Austrian 
 
Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik.  During the visit, Plassnik 
 
stated in the press that Albania's future "lies within the 
 
European Union."  During their meeting, Plassnik also 
 
stressed the need for further progress on implementing 
 
reforms in Albania in order to establish the rule of law and 
 
a "sound" judiciary system, and to fight organized crime and 
 
corruption.  Austria, through its leadership of the EU's 
 
CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development 
 
and Stabilization) project in the judiciary sector, is also 
 
providing assistance to Albania for training police in 
 
criminal investigation procedures. 
 
-- In June 2005, Austrian Interior Minister Liese Prokop met 
 
with Albanian Interior Minister Igli Toska in Austria to 
 
discuss the fight against illicit trafficking and organized 
 
crime.  The two ministers exchanged information on Albanian 
 
organized crime groups operating illegally in Austria, 
 
according to press reporting.  The ministers also discussed 
 
the possibility of setting up joint working groups and other 
 
ways to increase cooperation in identifying and fighting 
 
Albanian organized crime. 
 
-- The Western Balkans and the fight against organized crime 
 
and corruption will be key themes of the Austrian EU 
 
Presidency from January to July 2006. Post will continue to 
 
report on developments in these areas. 
 
van Voorst