December 2, 2024
Six Albanians arrested in Antwerp cocaine investigation
Belgian police arrested six Albanians on Thursday in an ongoing criminal investigation into drugs on suspicion of involvement in an organization that would be involved in the import and trade of cocaine via the port of Antwerp. A cocaine laundry was found in a building in the port city.

The Antwerp public prosecutor's office reported on Monday that the investigation started in 2023, when the police received information about a group of Albanians who were supposedly importing cocaine from a building in the Somersstraat in Antwerp via the port of Antwerp. During the investigation, signals emerged that a cocaine laundry was operating in the building in question, where cocaine was also being re-pressed and repackaged. From there, the cocaine was supposedly being traded throughout Europe.

Raids
On Thursday, five house searches were carried out in Antwerp, Berchem and Borgerhout on the orders of the investigating judge. During the raid on Somersstraat, chemicals, a cocaine press, logos and packaging material were found.

Six men between the ages of 22 and 57 were brought before the investigating judge after questioning. The six were placed under arrest warrant and are in custody. They will appear before the council chamber on Tuesday. The judicial investigation is continuing.

https://www.crimesite.nl/zes-albanezen-opgepakt-in-antwerps-cocaineonderzoek/

How is the Albanians status in Ecuador now?

Saw a an article of them battling Mexican cartels in 2022, could that be true?

https://cuencahighlife.com/albanian...-recruits-boys-as-young-as-10-as-hitmen/

They work together prominent members have ties to the El Mayo faction.

Italy arrests drug traffickers who used migrants as couriers, police say

ROME, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Twenty-seven people have been arrested in a pan-European raid against two drug trafficking groups, one of which used migrants as couriers, Italy's Carabinieri police said on Wednesday.

The suspects were taken in for drug offences in Italy, Albania and Spain, the Carabinieri said, adding that 20 of them were remanded in custody and seven placed under house arrest.

One group, led by Nigerians, used young Nigerian asylum seekers or refugees to transport marijuana across Italy and Europe, the police statement said.

A long-distance bus terminal near Rome's Tiburtina train station was "used as a national and international sorting centre for drug trafficking", it added.

The couriers had been recruited from a migrant reception centre on the outskirts of Rome used as a depot for drugs.

The second group, led by Albanians, was said to import marijuana to Italy, using fast boats across the Adriatic, to sell it on to Nigerian traffickers.

Some of the Albanian suspects were also charged with aggravated extortion against Nigerian buyers who were late with their drug payments, police said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14485991/Albanian-UK-criminals-nationality-data.html

The shocking rise of ruthless Albanian gangs who now control UK drug trade: Up to one in 36 men born in Balkan state but living here are in jail, according to first of its kind league table of criminals by nationality

SPAK's mega-operation/ Tons of cocaine headed to Bari, 4.5 million euros were brought into Albania by buses

A major international anti-drug operation, dubbed "URA", began at dawn, leading to the arrest of 52 people between Albania and Italy, as well as the seizure of movable and immovable assets worth several million euros.

The swift operation, carried out by the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA) of Bari and the Albanian authorities, is the result of a complex investigative activity against international drug trafficking, money laundering and abuse of office.

The operation was carried out with the support of Interpol, the Office of Security Experts in Tirana, the Albanian Police, under the coordination of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Bari and SPAK of Tirana.

According to investigations, the Albanian criminal organization operated on a large scale along the Balkan routes, with branches towards Northern Europe and consolidated drug landing sites in Puglia, considered a strategic center for the distribution of narcotics.

Cocaine and other narcotics were transported mainly via sea routes, with the logistical support of operational cells present in Italy, also involved in the management of illicit proceeds through money laundering activities and fictitious ownership of assets.

The precautionary measures were issued within the framework of the "URA" operation following investigations carried out by the DIA of Bari between September 2021 and June 2022, which made it possible to collect serious evidence against suspects, Albanians and Italians, belonging in Italy to two criminal groups based in Puglia and another criminal group in Albania, based in Durrës.

https://a2news.com/english/shqiperi...kokaine-drejt-barit-45-mln-euro-i1148575

Major strike against Italian-Albanian drug trafficking network: 52 suspects targeted

With the active assistance of Eurojust, the authorities in Italy and Albania have dealt a major blow to three linked organised crime groups (OCGs) involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. During a joint action day, arrest warrants were issued against 52 suspects, including individuals believed to be at the highest levels in the hierarchies of the OCGs. Eurojust supported the cooperation between the Italian and Albanian authorities by setting up a joint investigation team (JIT).


During the action day, authorities in both countries seized assets worth at least several millions euros, including apartments and companies, as well as various luxury vehicles. . Large amounts of cash and quantities of cocaine and heroin were also seized. A full and complete evaluation of the seizures will be carried out in the coming days.

No complete estimate of the total profits of the cooperation between the three OCGs is available. However, information obtained through the JIT shows that the criminal networks were involved in payments, often in cash, of close to EUR 5 million and the trafficking of at least 1 800 kilos of cocaine and heroin.

Investigations into the linked criminal organisations were initiated in 2016 by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bari and the Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Prosecutor's Office of Tirana and the Albanian Police. On the Albanian side, one OCG, which operated from Durres, was responsible for the transport and wholesale distribution of large quantities of cocaine, heroin and cannabis trafficked between the Balkans, Northern Europe, South America and Puglia in Italy.

Two Italian-led criminal gangs carried out the cutting and packaging of illicit drugs and supplied cocaine and heroin from Latin America and Turkey to local gangs in organisations in Bari, Brindisi and Lecce.

The arrests in Italy and Albania are the result of a long-term collaboration through the JIT. This involved the use of wiretaps, intensive video surveillance, the monitoring of suspects and the analysis of encrypted chats. These chats were decrypted following intensive cooperation through Eurojust.

Since 2020, Eurojust has supported the authorities in Italy and Albania with the JIT. Furthermore, the Agency provided assistance with the execution of requests for Mutual Legal Assistance during the action day and gave cross-border judicial support. Albania is one of the twelve countries outside the European Union with a Liaison Prosecutor at Eurojust. The investigations were also coordinated and supported by the office of the dedicated security expert at the Italian Embassy in Tirana.

The judicial cooperation between Italy and Albania has already proven effective in recent years. Between 2018 and 2021, the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate of Bari issued and executed 118 arrest warrants against alleged drug traffickers operating in both countries. As a result, various defendants were sentenced up to 20 years imprisonment.

This week’s operation was carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

Italy: Public Prosecutor's Office Bari - District Anti-Mafia Directorate; Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate Bari, under the coordination of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate Rome, with support of the Office of the Security Expert at the Italian Embassy in Tirana

Albania: Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Prosecutor's Office (SPAK) of Tirana; Albanian Police