Albanian-speaking and Western Balkan criminal networks have come under the spotlight in buying large amounts of cocaine from Latin America, points out Europol in its latest report in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The report highlights that now Albanian groups operate in full autonomy and order the cocaine directly from the source.
“Some reports indicate that starting in 2012, Albanian-speaking groups developed influence in key ports both in South America (the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador) as well as Europe (initially in Belgium and the Netherlands and subsequently in Germany and Spain), and were also engaged in the distribution in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and even Australia”, the report says.
According to Europol some of the coastal cities that have been used to receive large quantities of cocaine ordered from Latin America are Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Valencia.
An estimated 266 Albanian nationals have been arrested from 2018 to 2020 for trafficking cocaine, followed by Brazilians, Columbians, and Nigerians.
“Since 2010, Italy, Germany, and Belgium have consistently identified Albanian among the top ten nationalities of individuals brought into formal contact with police for cocaine”, says UNODC.
After cannabis, cocaine is the second most popular drug in Western and Central Europe.
The latest assessment determined that there were around 4.4 million users in 2020.
Nearly 40% of the active criminal networks in Europe are involved in drug trafficking and illicit cocaine trade, an industry generating millions in euros to the underworld.
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