2014 Lazarat drug raid

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2014 Lazarat drug raid
Part of the war on drugs
The village of Lazarat
Date 16–20 June 2014 Location Lazarat, Gjirokastër County, Albania Result Albanian government victory Destruction of Lazarat's cannabis cultivation Albania gains EU Candidate status Cannabis growers move out of Lazarat to the surrounding areas
Belligerents
Albanian government Albanian police RENEA	Drug trafficking gangs Albanian mafia Cannabis cultivators
Commanders and leaders
Edi Rama Artan Didi [sq]
Units involved
800 policemen RENEA 2 helicopters Armored vehicles	30 cannabis cultivators
Casualties and losses
3 wounded	14 arrested

On 16 June 2014, around 800 heavily armed Albanian police officers began a large scale raid in the mountain village of Lazarat, targeting cannabis growers, as part of a nation-wide operation to quell illegal cannabis plantations. Armed drug gang members responded with fire from automatic rifles, RPG-7s and mortars. After a four-day siege, the police captured Lazarat and its surrounding fields. Fourteen villagers and mafiosos were arrested. No fatalities were reported. Following the capture of the village, the police destroyed around 91,000 cannabis plants.

Albania had for a long time been the largest producer of cannabis in Europe, which had hindered the country's effort to join the European Union. As a result of Albania's EU aspirations, Prime Minister Edi Rama initiated a country wide crackdown on illegal cannabis cultivation.