TIRANA, Feb. 26 – Although Albania is still considered as a country which mainly deals with the production and trafficking of marijuana, Italian judicial authorities are concerned about Albanians’ growing involvement in cocaine trafficking. During an interview with Ora News, the head of Italian Antimafia, Anti-Mafia and Counter-Terrorism Public Prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho, said that Albanian drug dealers are quite influential in Italy, as many cooperate with the local mafia.
“Albanian criminal groups already have a huge representation in the Italian territory where there are groups that participate in drug trafficking, sometimes in cooperation with the Italian mafia groups, and sometimes independently,” he added.
This also means that the Albanian criminal activity in Italy extends to other European countries through a wider network. “The mafia itself handles the importing of cocaine from the manufacturing countries and has set up a network to receive these cargoes of drugs in various ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea,” said Federico Cafiero De Raho.
Though Italy and Albania have established a strong relationship with one another, De Raho also added that “Albania is a marijuana manufacturing country and despite efforts to fight it, Albania is an important transit country for other drugs as well. However, it still remains mainly a marijuana manufacturing and trafficking country rather than a country known for cocaine trafficking.”
