Albanian military helicopter takes part in anti-drug operation in the area of Dukagjin | Photo: Albania State Police

Nearly 300 police officers, including interior ministry special forces units aided by military helicopters, have swept through the mountainous area of Dukagjin in northern Albania, destroying hundreds of cannabis plantations.

“The operation was carried out in rugged mountain terrain, with valleys and gorges and intense vegetation, far way from inhabited areas, which makes access very difficult,” police spokesperson Tefik Sulejmani said in a statement.

On Friday, suspected drug traffickers shot at army helicopters with automatic rifles as police forces were moving into the area.

This is the second major anti-drug operation in Albania this summer aimed at destroying cannabis plantations.

In June, over 1,000 police took control of the outlaw village of Lazarat in southern Albania after a week of battles with heavily-armed marijuana traffickers.

The village had been off-limits to local police for more than a decade, becoming synonymous with uncontrolled crime.

One police officer and two shepherds were wounded and 21 suspects including an alleged drugs baron, accused of shooting at police, were arrested.

Police destroyed five drug labs and seized large quantities of weapons, including grenade launchers, an anti-aircraft gun, a heavy machine guns, explosives, grenades and hundreds of AK-47 automatic rifles.

A total of 133,219 cannabis plants were destroyed.

In statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, interior minister Saimir Tahiri said that since June 1 this year, police had destroyed over 344,400 plants.

“The operation in the area of Dukagjin is a sign of our will to fight organized crime and narcotics trafficking,” Tahiri said.