Raids at more than 60 venues: minors served alcohol, blocked exits and illegal betting in cafés, clubs and casinos

Over the weekend, police - together with all the interior affairs sectors and several inspection services - checked more than 60 venues across Macedonia until late at night: café-bars, nightclubs, casinos, betting shops and other premises. Everything known so far comes from unofficial information. By the time the first reports came out, the Interior Ministry had issued no official statement on the operation.

According to that information, inspectors found premises with no fire extinguishers and with blocked entrances and exits. Fines and work bans were imposed, and some venues were shut down. In some of them, minors were found who had been served alcohol. A venue allegedly organising illegal online betting was also uncovered. Searches were carried out and several people were arrested, but the number detained, the addresses and the specific violations have not been released.

The operation followed two days of coordinated searches targeting drugs and weapons. For those, the ministry does have official figures: on 16 and 17 October the Criminal Police Department, with all the interior affairs sectors and the K-9 Unit, carried out 47 searches of homes and auxiliary premises across the country. Police seized a larger quantity of marijuana, several packages of cocaine - including smaller packages ready for sale - pistols and rifles, ammunition and cash. Sixteen people were detained and 11 criminal complaints were filed for unauthorised production and trafficking of narcotics and for illegal possession of and trade in weapons.

A blocked exit is not a minor violation

Of the whole list, two items are the most serious. Blocked exits and premises with no fire equipment in a nightclub are not an administrative slip. After the Kočani fire, everyone who runs a club and every inspector who checks one knows what a blocked exit means. And yet they were found again. Who was inspecting these venues before the raid, and what did those inspection reports say?

The second item is alcohol for minors. That was found in a single night of checks. How many drinks get served to minors on the nights when there are no checks?

Raids are good news, but a raid is a reminder that the rules exist, not proof that they're being followed. Until the official figures, the names of the closed venues and the size of the fines are published, the public has nothing but a headline.