There are 35 organized crime groups active in Montenegro, with most of them involved in narcotics trafficking, says a document by the Montenegrin police that evaluates the threat of organized crime and creates a map of it in accordance with EU standards.

The Vijesti daily from Podgorica states that the document, which the police drew up together with Austrian experts, puts narcotics trafficking, money laundry and arms trafficking as the key threats.

Montenegro is a relatively small market, but acts as a transit area because of its location, access to sea and the proximity of the so called Balkan route, the document says.

The police believe the money earned from narcotics trafficking is then inserted into legal banking transactions and used by crime bosses and members of their groups to buy valuable real estate, like hotels and dance clubs, or to build luxurious buildings.

Northern Montengro's town of Rozaje, the capital Podgorica and Bar and Kotor in the south are identified in the document as the centres of organized crime in the country.