Kosovo police seize 25 kg of suspected marijuana in Pristina

Kosovo Police searched four locations in Pristina on 21 January 2025 and seized 25.2 kg of suspected marijuana during an operation called Starti. Four men were arrested over suspected drug and weapons offences, and the prosecutor ordered detention for up to 48 hours.^[1]

Four searches followed an investigation

Police said the operation began with information gathering and collecting evidence in the field. Investigators from the narcotics-trafficking directorate’s central sector carried out the searches in coordination with the Serious Crimes Prosecution.^[1]

Officers reported finding 27 packages of suspected marijuana, which they believed were intended for the local market. They also seized a car, two rifles, two revolvers, seven cartridges, six mobile phones and €350.^[1]

The four suspects were Kosovar men born between 1979 and 1991. Police said they were interviewed with defence lawyers present before the prosecutor sent them into detention. The report described suspected unauthorised drug purchase, possession, distribution and sale, alongside unlawful weapons possession.^[1]

Supply carried longer prison terms

Kosovo’s criminal code effective from April 2019 distinguished holding drugs from supplying them. Buying or possessing drugs with intent to sell or distribute carried a fine and two to eight years in prison. Distribution and sale carried a fine and two to twelve years.^[2]

Those ranges explain the legal stakes of an investigation into cannabis allegedly intended for a local market. The code’s ordinary possession offence carried a fine and one to three years. Its lower tier allowed a fine or up to one year for a first offence involving less than three grams of cannabis or hashish for personal use.^[2]

Cannabis remained tightly restricted

The 2008 drug law placed cannabis, its resin, extracts and tinctures in Table I. Activities involving those substances were restricted to scientific research, education and police purposes, while the ordinary medical-treatment permissions applied to other tables.^[3]

It also covered free delivery within its controlled activities and prohibited growing plants from which narcotics could be obtained. Cannabis supply therefore faced restrictions reaching beyond commercial shop sales.^[3]

Reform arguments met continued policing

The investigation followed years of criticism of Kosovo’s drug policy. In an October 2019 opinion, consultant Kushtrim Shaipi argued for regulated cannabis legalisation and criticised checkpoints and raids in bars and clubs.^[4]

Starti shows the continuing police focus on suspected supply to the domestic market. The Kosovo profile explains the possession and supply penalties under which such investigations take place.