Crime Agency showed that in 2017 the majority of victims of human trafficking are Albanians who are exploited as cheap labor or in the sex industry. Prosecution Albania criminally prohibits sex and labor trafficking through its penal code, which prescribes penalties of 5 to 15 years' imprisonment. Since the fall of communism in Albania in the early 1990s, the trade in young Albanian women has expanded into Western Europe, as well as the trade in women from Eastern Europe for sexual enslavement. These penalties exceed those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The State Police division reported investigating a combined 35 suspected traffickers in 2009. The government prosecuted 31 suspected trafficking offenders in 2009, convicting 11 of them; this contrasts with 26 trafficking offenders convicted in 2008 and seven in 2007. All of the prosecutions and convictions involved sex trafficking of women or children. In 2009, sentences imposed on convicted trafficking offenders ranged from 5 to 16 years' imprisonment. Pervasive corruption in all levels and sectors of Albanian society seriously hampered the government's ability to address its human trafficking problem, according to local observers. The Supreme Court overturned convictions of traffickers in two cases in 2009. In January 2009, the government reported it doubled the number of police investigators to investigate trafficking. The Serious Crimes Court seized and confiscated $268,115 in traffickers' assets and property in 2009. In 2019, the government doubled the budget for the Office of the National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (ONAC), but nevertheless, the government does not meet all of the minimum standards. Because the government investigated fewer cases, 2019 saw the lowest level of reported prosecutions in four years. However, as it is making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards according to the US State Department's 2020 report on trafficking in human beings, Albania remains at Tier 2. Protection The Government of Albania has taken some steps to improve its efforts to identify and protect victims of trafficking. The government has implemented a National Referral Mechanism and conducted meetings with relevant stakeholders to improve its functioning. It identified 94 victims of trafficking in 2009, compared with 108 in 2008. The government's one shelter assisted 24 victims and NGOs assisted 70 during 2009. In 2009, the government provided free professional training to 38 victims, provided 11 with micro-credit loans to start private businesses, and integrated five victims into schools. In January 2010, it approved a