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DIA Report: Albanian Criminal Organizations Are Taking Leadership in Cocaine Trafficking. What is Their Distinctive Feature?

2025-05-28 14:56:25Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
DIA Report: Albanian Criminal Organizations Are Taking Leadership in Cocaine
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The Italian Antimafia (DIA) presented its annual Antimafia report for 2024 on Tuesday. According to the report, the Italian mafia is abandoning rival battles for supremacy to cooperate in the fields of drug trafficking, prostitution and money laundering.

The Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Neapolitan Camorra are forging alliances at home and abroad, while the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta is increasingly focused on controlling public works projects.

"Coexistence has led to synergy expressed through the formation of structures capable of neutralizing conflicts, disagreements and tensions," said DIA director Michele Carbone at the press conference.

The report highlights that major public works projects were threatened by mafia infiltration, which is why measures to combat this criminal organization were focused on the construction sector in 2024, where 200 investigations were carried out at public project construction sites.

At the same time, mafia members are increasingly using Chinese networks of "underground banks" to launder money, the DIA report shows.

An important chapter in this report is also devoted to "Albanian crime." The report states that Albanian crime is increasingly gaining ground in Italy and is even gaining leadership in cocaine trafficking.

According to the report, Albanian criminal networks are spread throughout Italian territory and have established strong ties with Italian mafia groups such as the Sicilian "Cosa Nostra", the Calabrian "Ndrangheta", the Neapolitan "Camorra", etc.

"Drug trafficking remains the main business of these criminal organizations, thanks to high profits. This sector is further strengthened by the creation of strong links with other criminal organizations that guarantee privileged channels of narcotics supply from abroad such as Albania and Spain," the report states.

DIA underlines that Albanian criminal organizations are characterized as the most complex, but also the most organized.

"Albanian crime represents one of the most complex and structured expressions of foreign crime in Italy. Albanian criminal groups, present in a widespread manner throughout the national territory, operate with diverse organizational and operational approaches. Some operate in small, sometimes multi-ethnic groups, mainly dedicated to crimes against property. However, others have formed strong and long-lasting criminal organizations, rooted in the territory and with operational methods that in some cases are reminiscent of those of the mafia," the DIA report states.

According to the report, a distinctive feature of Albanian criminal organizations is the use of violence, both to resolve internal conflicts over control of the drug market, and as a means of intimidation and control.

What draws attention is that the members of the groups have family ties or come from the same region of Albania.

"A special characteristic is given by affiliations, which are often based on family ties or between individuals originating from the same city or region of Albania. These ties are strengthened by precise codes of conduct that consolidate their internal structure," the report quotes.

According to the Italian anti-mafia, drug trafficking remains the main sector of Albanian criminal activity and the proceeds from it are increasingly reinvested in the purchase of legitimate economic activities and real estate. Furthermore, investigative evidence confirms that Albanian gangs are also involved in other illegal activities, such as arms trafficking, human trafficking, exploitation of prostitution and the commission of tax crimes.

"A recent investigation by the State Police, which ended on December 7 with the arrest of two individuals of Albanian origin, has also shown how Albanian crime is very active even in advanced sectors such as the online drug trade. In drug trafficking, these ethnic groups sometimes operate together with other foreign criminal groups and are distinguished by their credibility and consolidated role at the international level," the report on Albanian mafia groups states.

What stands out is that Albanian criminal groups are capable of managing the transportation of large shipments of narcotics, which are obtained directly from South American cartels.

"With the importation of large quantities of cocaine aimed at supplying cells of compatriots operating in the main Italian cities. The ability to operate on a global scale and to offer drugs at competitive prices has enabled these groups to build strong relationships with Italian criminal organizations, including those of the mafia type. Many anti-drug activities, developed in various Italian regions, have identified real operational synergies between Albanian organized crime and domestic crime, favored by the stable route of connection that exists between the Albanian and Apulian coasts," the report quotes.

The Italian anti-mafia underlines that "the so-called "Adriatic Route" is characterized as a center for the transit of narcotics from Albania to Italy and the rest of Europe, also because it is facilitated by air connections with Balkan countries overlooking the Adriatic."

"Relations are also facilitated by the lack of rivalry for control of the territory, as Albanians are mainly involved in drug supply, leaving the management of retail trade to Italian criminal organizations. Cocaine is imported into Italian territory by sea and land, through the main European distribution routes, being able to rely on entities located in Northern Europe, thanks to which, over time, they have managed to penetrate the main commercial ports (Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg)," the Italian anti-mafia report states, among other things.

There are numerous cases of operations that show the connections of Albanian criminal groups with Italian mafia families such as the 'Ndrangheta.

"The ability to create relationships for business-criminal purposes is demonstrated in the relationships maintained by 'Ndrangheta gangs with other criminal organizations. The most recent findings confirm the gangs' tendency to create utilitarian collaborations with groups of different mafia origins, justified mainly by specific circumstances and not by a consolidated division of criminal interests, a situation that is also reflected in relations with foreign groups, especially of Albanian origin," the report concludes.


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