Altin Dumani, head of the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), has given an interview to the Italian media, "La Repubblicca", thus choosing a foreign media for his first interview since taking office in December last year. 

Asked what unites the Italian and Albanian gangs, Dumani said that their goal is to get rich quickly in violation of the law. Furthermore, Altin Dumani has shown that Albanian criminals operate mainly in cities such as Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Ancona, Turin, Bari, Brescia, Bergamo, Pordenone, Pisa and Lecce. 

The main activity of the Albanian mafia in Italy is drug trafficking, while Dumani has discovered that Albanian groups have already managed to influence the cocaine and cannabis market in EU countries, being mainly active in Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Great Britain. 

In the last decade, there has been an increase in shipments of cocaine from South America controlled by Albanian groups destined mainly for EU countries, Dumani also claimed, adding that this development is the result of the strong ties that they have managed to create with drug cartels from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. 

Faced with the question of whether we can talk today about an Albanian mafia, the Head of Special Prosecution has emphasized that Albanian groups are criminal structures similar to the Italian mafia, organizations such as Cosa nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Camorra or Sacra Corona Unita, adding that Albanian criminal groups are characterized by close family and social ties, but without a clear hierarchy. 

The fight against corruption was another topic of discussion in this interview. 

"Corruption is a worrying phenomenon for countries in transition and Albania cannot avoid this problem. SPAK considers the fight against corruption of high state officials essential for the functioning of the rule of law and one of the main priorities of its work. Since its establishment, SPAK has sanctioned several magistrates, prosecutors, police officers, mayors and former mayors, a deputy minister, a former prosecutor general, a former interior minister for crimes of corruption or abuse of office and currently has arrested a former minister and an MP of the Parliament of Albania," he said. 

Among other things, the head of SPAK has shown that the sectors most affected by money laundering are construction, real estate, gambling and tourism, as well as the use of cryptocurrencies. He states that the main danger of Albanian organized crime is its impact on the country's economy, as money laundering through various investments distorts the market economy and free competition.