Albanian backing for drug gang blitz

Record story on cannabis crooks causes a stir in Balkan country

- MARK MCGIVERN

ALBANIAN gangsters who have taken over the Scots cannabis farming underworld must be stopped to protect both countries, according to campaigners.

There has been a strong backlash in Albania after the Daily Record revealed organised crime groups from the Balkan country are flooding Scots communities with "skunk" cultivations.

Our weekend report was picked up by major Albanian news outlet Top Channel and was the centrepiece of a TV special. It reflected our findings that tens of millions of pounds worth of super-strong skunk is being produced in rented homes and disused business properties, all involving the theft of industrial amounts of electricity to boost crops.