How did Albanians take Ndrangheta's place in Ecuador? Artan Hoxha gives the details

Journalist Artan Hoxha, invited to the show "Albania" by Rudina Xhunga, made a detailed analysis of how organized crime works in Albania, how Albanians act in Ecuador, why staggering numbers are being revealed that were given to carry out assassinations by criminal groups , etc.

The journalist said that the Albanians in Ecuador have taken the Ndrageta franchise because they do big operations that other criminal groups do not undertake.

"I was the first Albanian to enter Ecuador with a passport. He shot at a bad moment because at that time Ecuador blocked the free movement of Albanians. This fact was not announced. They blocked it because they thought that Albanians have become problematic. But in fact one of the most famous Albanians who entered there, Gramoz Rexhepi, had a Greek passport. It took months to find the wanted by Interpol, who had escaped from 6 prisons. There were also Albanians who went to try their luck. Albanians have an element, they don't value life. They take a very big risk and that's why they succeed because they don't value life. Others tolerate before life.

When I met the Montenegrin consul in 2022 in Ecuador, he gave me a list of all the quantities of drugs that had been seized that year. In all cases involving Serbian and Montenegrin citizens, the quantities did not exceed 200 kg.

In cases where there were Albanians, the smallest amount was 1.8 tons. That is why the Albanians, who were a minority in Ecuador, were very vocal compared to the Serbs and Montenegrins who are in the majority.

Why was this happening?

If you go with a truck today to ?erme in Lushnja and say you want 40 tons of tomatoes, the whole of Myzeqeja will hear about it, but if you cross the street and buy 2 kg, no one will hear about it. Albanians used to do this in Ecuador. They used to park the trailer in one place and say we need 5 tons. Because we are late entrants into that type of industry, we want to go straight to the top. These large quantities that the Albanians move from there are operations that Ndragheta has done before. So the Albanians have taken the 'Ndrangheta franchise. The head of SPAK also said this today. So the Albanians are well established in Peru, Brazil, Colombia. So we are everywhere in Latin America. We have our cases, our martyrs, we have the tons caught there, which testify to the monetary power", said Hoxha.

The journalist shows how the money made from cocaine by the crime bosses is circulating in Albania. He says that only last year 12 billion euros were exchanged at exchange points, which the state budget does not even have that much.

"The Colombian cartels are extremely large, they move billions. But for him to believe you, you need 2-3 tons of evidence, you need certainty that these tons will really be sold and they will get the money. Albanians have given evidence that they do this, they are not there by chance. This shows why their income is so great that they create the empire.

Cocaine has a uniqueness from other narcotics, within a short time it brings large amounts of profit and the problem that everyone has with cocaine is that they don't know where they will take that money, where they will clean it, invest it.

Escobar became a problem because he took 30 billion dollars and was burying them in the ground because there were no more banks to take them to. Even today, after 30 years, there are 5-10 million euros buried in Colombia.

Albania has the same problem today. During the last year, 12 billion euros were exchanged in Albania only at the currency exchange points. Even the state budget is not that much. Why do we find these figures for assassinations that are 100,000, 500,000, 1 million euros unbelievable. The US offered a 5 million euro reward for Bin Laden or Pablo Escobar.

Who gave them this power in Albania? We are not seeing the money from organized crime in Albania yet. But we only see the corpses. We focus on a group that has corpses. But why are they paid so much, 1 million euros, to kill Durim Bami? What happens in this country? 3-5 million reward was for Vis Martinaj. How is it possible? Where do these large amounts of money come from? They come from this type of criminality, because cocaine brings a lot of money. When there was also the initiative of the government to do the fiscal amnesty, I said that Albania should make it a zero year. Because this money needs to be put in. We have to decide if this money will be taken by hitmen or if you will put it into the system against a tax. Until 1997, we had the pyramids flourishing. Why? Because we didn't have banks. So Albania should have a zero year. Criteria must be chosen that do not benefit all of them. But we have to have a zero year because we can't stop it. They say 12 billion euros exchanged at currency exchange points. That 3 million found in a plastic barrel is just loose change they keep for quick things. Today, young Albanian groups that we don't know at all, which is the generation that is growing up, pay with bitcoin. Been paying with bitcoin for a while. In the meantime, we want to fight them with policemen who we pay with 500 thousand lek, badly dressed", said the journalist on DritareTV.