TIRANA, Oct. 23 – A large international police operation based in Italy has led to the arrest of 71 people in Italy, Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, for international drugs trafficking and other related crimes, EU police agency Europol said on Monday.
Italian Carabinieri ROS, under supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office in L’Aquila, and National Directorate against drugs held Operation Ellenika started four years ago. They were focused on a Kosovo-Albanian organized crime group involved in trafficking large quantities of heroin from Albania to Italy, via Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
International police co-operation between Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Kosovar and Slovenian authorities resulted in evidence of the criminal group trafficking more than 600 kg of heroin and 500 kg of marijuana in total, police said.
In another operation police in the southernmost city of Sarande stopped a mule loaded with 72 kg of cannabis that was destined to be trafficked across the border into neighboring Greece. Some persons managed to leave after seeing police. Police are investigating to find the perpetrators.
Italian police bust major Balkans crime network
Change font size:
Recommended Articles
Latest from News
Opposition Calls for Rama’s Resignation Over Corruption
Change font size: - + Reset Tirana protest unfolds amid EU concerns over shrinking parliamentary oversight. TIRANA, May 08, 2026 — Albania’s opposition staged a national protest in Tirana on Friday evening,
Dirty Money in the Skyline: Albania’s Tower Boom and the Laundering of Criminal Wealth
Change font size: - + Reset From towers to “new pyramids”: how money from organized crime, international drug trafficking and entrenched corruption is reshaping Tirana while leaving behind empty buildings, distorted prices
Albania’s EU bid faces IBAR delay
Change font size: - + Reset Tirana Times, April 11, 2026 – Albania’s path toward European Union membership has entered a more uncertain phase as discussions over a key assessment report remain
Albania Slips Into Electoral Autocracy
Change font size: - + Reset V Dem places Albania in a category dominated by African states, with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina the only Western Balkan countries in the same group.
Albania Draws a Red Line on Iran
Change font size: - + Reset Parliament’s decision to label Tehran a state sponsor of terrorism formalizes a break years in the making and reflects a broad Albanian consensus that Iran has