Croatia borders with Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina and its coast stretches on about 1,000 kilometres, which represents an attractive target for smugglers who are trying to smuggle the dugs to the grand European market.
The Croatian police have registered a permanent increase of smuggling from the east and assessed that between 70 and 80 percent of heroin intended for European markets was being smuggled through the notorious Balkan route, the State Department said.
In January 2004, the Croatia police conducted a join operation with police forces from Austria, Slovenia and Serbia directed against smuggling through Kosovo, which resulted in the confiscation of 7 kilograms of heroin from one Albanian national, the State Department said.
The report stressed that Croatia was actively cooperating with the countries of the region, west European countries and the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.
The State Department also stressed that in 2003 Croatia adopted a national programme for the control of drug abuse.