Albanian authorities arrested ten alleged members of a drug trafficking network over the weekend in an operation supported by Eurojust. A sophisticated cocaine-processing laboratory was also seized in Albania. The members of the Albanian organised crime group (OCG) were involved in the transport of cocaine from Latin America via Italy to Albania, from where it was trafficked to several European countries.

In 2023, the Albanian Special Prosecution Office against Organised Crime (SPAK) launched an investigation into the network. This investigation revealed that the network was involved in large-scale drug trafficking from Latin America through European ports, with Albania as a gateway to the wider European drug market. The seized laboratory was processing and refining drugs for wholesale to other OCGs across Europe. An estimate of the total volume of the drug trafficking and wholesale value is currently being made.

In addition to the laboratory, the following items were also seized:

• Nearly 50 tonnes of raw materials to potentially conceal narcotics
• Over 6 kilos of cocaine
• Almost 90 kilos of solid drug  mixing materials and 50 kilos of liquids for the preparation of wholesale cocaine
• Laboratory equipment, such as presses, acetone, glass test tubes, chemical materials, microwaves and packaging bags
• Over EUR 50 000 in cash in various currencies
• Bank and phone cards, as well as various mobile communication equipment
• Six  vehicles

Eurojust assisted SPAK and the authorities in Reggio Calabria with the execution of requests for Mutual Legal Assistance from Albania to Italy. This was done through its National Desk for Italy and the Albanian Liaison Prosecutor at the Agency. Albania* is one of the twelve countries outside the European Union with a Liaison Prosecutor based at Eurojust in The Hague.

The operation last weekend was carried out by and at the request of:

• Albania: Special Prosecution Office against Organised Crime (SPAK)
• Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Reggio Calabria; Guardia di Finanza Reggio Calabria