The Albanian mafia is increasingly present in our country. What is its structure
Where it operates
What relations does it have with the Italian mafias
We talk about it with Vincenzo Musacchio, an expert on new mafias.
Vincenzo Musacchio, criminologist, jurist and associate at the Rutgers Institute on Anti-Corruption Studies (RIACS) in Newark (USA). Researcher at the High School of Strategic Studies on Organized Crime of the Royal United Services Institute in London. In his career he was a pupil of Giuliano Vassalli, friend and collaborator of Antonino Caponnetto, an Italian magistrate known for having led the anti-Mafia Pool with Falcone and Borsellino in the second half of the 1980s. Today he is one of the most accredited scholars of the new transnational mafias, an authoritative scholar at an international level of strategies to fight organized crime. Author of numerous essays and of a monograph published in fifty-four states written with Franco Roberti entitled “The fight against the new mafias fought at a transnational level”.Professor, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime is sounding an alarm on the expansion of the Albanian mafia in Europe. This criminal organization is playing a leading role in the European drug market. Especially cocaine. Which are the European countries where the presence of Albanian clans is strong
In the last five years, Albanian criminal organizations have expanded the perimeter of drug access points, which constitutes their main economic income, with constant presence verified in locations such as Hamburg (Germany), Valencia and Algeciras (Spain), together with a greater influence and presence in the UK. They have contacts in the ports of Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), to which shipments from Latin America arrive. They are present in most of the Member States, often creating alliances with indigenous mafias. Let’s talk about the organization of this mafia. First of all what is her name
“Mafja Shqiptare” and her name in the Albanian language. How it is structured
What is their particularity
The Albanian mafia, very similar to the ‘Ndrangheta, follows the strict rules of omerta and silence. It has a code of honor that they call “Besa” which for many Albanians is still the highest ethical code in the country. Besa in Albanian means “honor”. For the mafiosi it is considered an indissoluble contract that dissolves only with death. Today, the Albanian mobsters use the “Besa” as a “blood pact”. They swear loyalty to the organization at the cost not only of their own lives but also that of their families. Once the leaders and the military wing have been decided, the orders are given to the cd. soldiers. The Albanian mafias express one of the highest criminogenic capacities at an international level, as they are able to merge “traditional” characteristics (rigid internal discipline, closure to third parties, impermeability,There is a mafia dome
Their organizational structure, as I said earlier, is similar to the ‘Ndrangheta and is always made up of a set of families linked by blood. We are rarely repentant. The mafia association is almost impenetrable. Where their strategic base in Albania is located
There is no strategic basis. In Tirana there are at least three very powerful organized criminal organizations that started their criminal activity already under the communist regime and managed to resist and with the fall of communism they have greatly strengthened for their ties of corruption with politics and business. local. In Shkodra it is believed that there are at least four major mafia “clans” that are also involved in various criminal activities. These four families are mainly involved in the trafficking of drugs, arms, organs and human beings. In Durres many criminal groups from all over the country have investments in the hotel tourism sector and the city in recent times serves to some extent as a meeting point or even as a refuge for many fugitives. Many Mafia families have taken root in Valona (Caushi, Kakami, Gaxhai). In Fier, criminal organizations mainly deal with extortion and arms trafficking and are among the most sophisticated criminal groups in the history of political transition in Albania. In Berat, organized crime has invested in tourism for a long time and continues to be present today. In Elbasan there are criminal groups in strong conflict with each other, it is no coincidence, in fact, that in the last year the murders have increased sharply, thus demonstrating that the city of Elbasan is a hotspot where the activity of mafia is still present despite the dismantling of the two notorious gangs of “Mandela” and “Tan Kateshi”.What role does the mafia play in the corruption of
Albania Albania is a unique case in Europe, as many traffickers are not outlaws on the margins of society, but have ties to the political class and are often in collusion with the police and with the judiciary which in theory should oppose them. It is no coincidence that Transparency International indicates Albania as the most corrupt country in the entire Balkan area. Parliament and the government would be polluted by the mafias and the proceeds from drug trafficking are an essential part of the economic and political system: the best way to secure people’s votes and pay them in cash, and the best source of money production comes from the market drugs.Let’s talk about the criminal alliances of this mafia. We know that he has a solid relationship with the Ecuadorian narcos. Why Ecuador
There are many reasons why the Albanian mafia has chosen Ecuador as the center of its business. First of all because it is a free zone rarely in the light of the international spotlight. Then it borders with Colombia. There is widespread corruption in the country and therefore Albanians often buy policemen and judges. However, it must be said that the Albanian clans have ties throughout the Latin American area also thanks to the intermediation of the ‘Ndrangheta. What relationship do they have with Afghanistan
According to the UNODC, Albanians are involved not only in trade but also in transport and logistics. While heroin is moving from Afghanistan to Europe via the Balkans, the Albanians are already working to create a bridge with the Taliban. The Albanian clans also control their ports, those of Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia on the Adriatic and use them for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Western Europe. Let’s deepen the role it is assuming in our country. How it managed to acquire an important role in relation to other criminal organizations
For some time the Albanian mafias have no longer a complementary but equal role with the other clans operating in Italy. This happened because the Albanian mafia leaders are very shrewd and intelligent and soon learned the strategies and methods for carrying out drug trafficking from the various organized criminal groups they collaborated with. They have thus developed an operational capacity and an economic investment potential to become independent. Their reputation for reliability and timeliness in trafficking and trading in high quality drugs at a very competitive price has inevitably accelerated their status as first-rate drug traffickers. How does it relate to the ‘Ndrangheta
It has always been said that they were subjected to the ‘Ndrangheta, but, with the passage of time, the Albanian mafias, thanks to drug trafficking, today work on an equal footing with the Calabrians. The mafia organizations have understood that waging war is not convenient and therefore they collaborate with each other utilitarianly for the sole purpose of obtaining mutual economic benefits. In our country where it operates most
By now they have settled in every part of the Italian territory, from Lombardy to small Molise. Thanks to the trafficking of drugs, human beings and organs and weapons, they are expanding more and more everywhere. Puglia is a new thriving market thanks to the alliance with the cd. fourth mafia. Where the proceeds of criminal activity are reinvested
In the UK and in Italy on the stock exchange. Much of the drug proceeds are reinvested in construction and tourism projects in Albania and used to influence politics and finance corruption. Currently the Albanian mafias are also planning to invade the Nordic countries, where the price of drugs, primarily cocaine, remains high and access is more limited than in Western Europe. Australia is an example of geography that does not constitute an obstacle to drug trafficking and trade, as Latin American ports on the west coast have been used for direct shipments to this country. Lately they launder their dirty money also in the United Arab Emirates. In our country we are aware of this danger represented by the leap in “quality” of this mafia
I don’t think you have full awareness. In this regard, I believe that the first step is international cooperation with the countries of origin. Effective countermeasures are needed, such as, for example, the interception and confiscation of assets, of which for now they are almost devoid of. It will be difficult to effectively fight the powerful Albanian mafia as the leaders of the organizations, which are numerous, will continue to dominate and impose their law no longer with violence but with the force of money and corruption. If we become aware of this ever-growing criminal phenomenon, the results, I’m sure, will not be long in coming.
