Ethnic Albanian organized crime gangs have been taking advantage of simmering insurgencies in southern Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as instability in Kosovo to expand their activities. Their actions are not only impeding UN and NATO efforts to rebuild Kosovo society; they also threaten the stability of the south Balkan region. As nationalists seek to unite Albanian-majority territories into a greater Kosovo and possibly a greater Albania, criminals benefit from border instability that facilitates trafficking in narcotics, human beings, weapons, and cigarettes. Criminal groups are able to take advantage of the breakdown in law and order in the region to move illicit goods into Western Europe. This article describes the smuggling route into Central Europe through the Presevo valley in southern Serbia, as well as the Italian route through the Sar mountains north and west of Tetovo. Intelligence sources have indicated that in addition to smuggling, other associated criminal industries are also flourishing in rebel-held areas. These industries are thought to include production laboratories for amphetamines and methamphetamines and some refining of raw opium. The new Kosovo government's recent rejection of the Belgrade-Skopje border agreement signed in 2001 raises the prospect of new tension on both sides of the Macedonia-Kosovo border at a time when rumors of a spring offensive are already rife. Whichever way the situation in the southern Balkans develops in the coming months, the interests of heroin smugglers will be a significant factor in perpetuating instability and conflict.