Other details have come to light from the clashes between Albanian gangs last weekend in Athens, where three Albanian citizens were killed and three others were injured, two of them police officers.
According to the Greek media, the gunfights in Kato Patisia and Agioi Anargyrou, which had Albanian criminals as protagonists, hide behind them the cocaine traffic and the washing of accounts through paid murders.
The two bloody events were connected to each other, where Andon Dhimitraq Tefi and Armando Lamaj, 48 and 46 years old, were killed. Both of them were arrested in May for drug trafficking. In a long analysis, the Greek media write that behind these clashes is cocaine traffic coming from Latin American cartels. The 46-year-old who fell dead from the bullets of his 48-year-old compatriot (also his accomplice in at least one case of drug trafficking) was not an ordinary person of the Albanian mafia.
He had been arrested seven times in Greece and according to the Greek media this shows the range of the many activities he had developed. The fact that he went to the meeting with at least three other people as a support group (including his 23-year-old son, who was also killed as a result of what happened in Patisia) means that he was the ringleader. Meanwhile, the Greek police themselves have raised the alarm that in the last period the executions of people who are involved in the Albanian mafia in one way or another have increased.
Murders for hire and money laundering
In recent years, a number of murders of members of the Albanian mafia have occurred in Greece, where the executions are mainly carried out for payment and settlement of accounts. One such was the one on November 16, 2021, where a 37-year-old owner of a gas station on Thivon Avenue, who was previously convicted of cocaine trafficking about 12 years ago, was shot. Last year, a 32-year-old Albanian was executed again in a cafe in Sepolia, as well as his 39-year-old compatriot. According to the Greek media, police officers have been following the activities of the Albanian mafia for years.
According to them, the Albanian mafia is settling accounts among its members, as a result of the breakdown of drug markets where, in addition to traditional cannabis, the trade now includes cocaine brought from Latin America. The Greek police announce that there are about 10-15 people in Greece who have no problem committing murders for hire. According to the police, this happened in the periods 2007-2009, 2014-2017 and has returned again in the last two years.