Ecuador has become the capital of cocaine cultivation and the point where it then spreads throughout Europe in the recent years, and many groups and gangs operate there, including the Albanian one.

Spanish media have reported with names, facts and the path that drugs follow, from production, transportation and bargaining made, from the country of South America, to Europe.

According to the media in Spain, in Europe, a kilogram of drugs costs about 29 thousand dollars, while in Ecuador 1,700. After the production of drugs, it is loaded on ships and planes, and from Manab goes to European countries.

Seizures in Europe of significant cocaine shipments from Ecuador, which have risen sharply in recent months, are keeping the Balkan Peninsula authorities on alert, coordinating operations with the US DEA and Europol. Both units have dealt strong blows to these criminal organizations, according to reports from those units.

After the first months of the pandemic, in 2020, criminal organizations in the Balkans are more active in drug trafficking. Some of them have become networks with a global reach. Europol estimates they are behind at least 30% of cocaine trafficking from Latin America. 129 tons were seized only in 2020, while in the current year, seizures have exceeded 120 tons.

Experts estimate that by the end of the year, this figure could reach 150 tons. The media talks about a quantity seized in the Port of Durrës on April 1, 2021, where 49 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in a container with bananas, divided into 30 packages.

It had come with the address of the company "Ecoalmax", which belonged to Arbër Çekaj's father, Selimi. The latter was left under house arrest, while in 2018, for the same charge, his son, Arbri, was also arrested. The latter was found with 619 kg of cocaine coming from Ecuador.

In the Spanish media, the fact is mentioned that the journalist of "News 24", Klodiana Lala, has told the whole story of the firm owned by Çekaj. In fact, the article says that the first suspicions of the DEA, about drug trafficking by Albanian gangs, but not only, have started since 2011. At that time, the head of the DEA, Jay Bergman, stated this for Reuters: “

"We have Albanian, Ukrainian, Italian, Chinese organized crime cases in Ecuador, all of which take their product to be distributed in their respective countries."

It is further emphasized that Albanians became very active in drug trafficking, then distributed to Europe. They had established strong ties with the producers of the Guayaquil area. One of the reasons of the experts, why the groups find a lot of ground in this illegal activity, is the weak judicial systems, and at the top of the report, stands Albania.

"In 2013, we really understood the serious problem with Albanian judges and prosecutors. They seized a large load of cocaine and the big boss. "They sentenced him to one year and he is still operating," said the former head of the Antimafia, whose identity is not disclosed. Authorities in Spain have concluded that between 2017 and 2021, a total of 721 Albanians, 1,053 Belarusians, 3,111 Greeks and 192 Montenegrins entered their country, 30% of whom are involved in drug trafficking.

Spanish media again brings to attention an investigation conducted by an Albanian journalist, which is related to the former great Albanian drug boss in Ecuador, Adriatik Tresa, 45 years old. The latter was killed at his home in Bali, by executors who then left in two cars. They had appeared in front of Tresa wearing police uniforms.

"When they live in Albania, they are nobody… They live in simple neighborhoods, modest houses, drink coffee in lost bars. When traveling to Ecuador they completely change their lifestyle, living in luxury residences. Tresa, who was the last Once in Albania in 2011, he specialized in committing paid murders, "said journalist Klodiana Lala.

Meanwhile, police experts are of the opinion that a large part of drug trafficking is coordinated from within the cells, and here another Albanian, named Dritan Rexhepi, comes into play. The latter is serving a 13-year sentence in the Cotopaxi prison in Ecuador. He was arrested in 2014, in the wake of a so-called "Balkan" operation.

Rexhepi is also known as a head of the "Company Bello" organization. According to them, Rexhepi uses sophisticated and coded tools to coordinate drug operations, as well as the fact that he still commands his organization, despite being locked in the cell doors.