Police in Gostivar arrested three men aged 20 to 24 after an operation that ran on May 8 from 2:30 to 7 PM. According to the police report, the searches turned up packages of marijuana, a digital scale, cash in various denominations, a small rifle with four rounds, and a mobile phone with drug residue.

The names of those arrested were given as initials - E.A. (24), D.Š. (24), and L.G. - per the standard pre-prosecution practice. All three are being held at the police station, and once the file is complete, criminal charges will follow. The operation was carried out by the External Department for Criminal Affairs in Gostivar.

At first glance, a routine police action. At second glance, something worth analysing. Cash in mixed denominations is not what drug users carry. It's economic evidence that this was about selling, not personal use. The digital scale confirms it - that's the infrastructure for small-scale sales, not individual consumption. And a small rifle with rounds - not for hunting, not for self-defence, but for protecting a business.

For Gostivar, this is not a new profile. Over the years, the town has been the target of several similar raids. The question no single raid solves: do these police operations actually shrink the drug market, or just push it into the next neighbourhood? Without a systemic answer - prevention, education, real alternatives for young people - raids have a short-term effect and a long-term cost for the state. The number of 20-to-24-year-olds being arrested should read as a warning, not a statistical victory.