
Italy has raised the alarm about the Albanian mafia in the country.
According to Italian media, the latest report by the Anti-Mafia Commission in Liguria shows that the Albanian mafia has achieved full operational autonomy, becoming an equal partner with the 'Ndrangheta in port control and drug trafficking.
The article notes that Albanian groups now manage the logistics and distribution of narcotics, using the profits to infiltrate the country's legal economy.
The establishment of the 'Ndrangheta and, above all, the growth of the Albanian mafia.
Excerpt from the Italian Antimafia report: "In our country there is a presence of major criminal organizations, with the 'Ndrangheta maintaining a very strong control, and then there are some new developments, such as the growing role and autonomy of the Albanian mafia, which is becoming an increasingly important and continuous presence," said Orlando. "The activity carried out is what we know from judicial proceedings, especially regarding the use of ports for drug trafficking, and the other side of the coin is the use of some of these resources to infiltrate the legal economy. We have built a picture through a system of very in-depth hearings, which I believe have provided us with this report today, which from now on will serve as a reference point for monitoring the evolution of this phenomenon." In this regard, the number of seizures in Ligurian ports is significant. Among the most important seizures in the period 2022-2024: 445 kg of cocaine in Genoa (7 February 2022), 412 kg in La Spezia (January 2022), 968 kg in Vado Ligure (17 January 2023) and 116 kg in Vado Ligure (March 2024). According to the report, Liguria accounts for 18.2% of the total seizures in the entire country, the highest figure in Northern Italy. Also regarding the logistics of drug trafficking, it was emphasized that the organized crime operating in Liguria is not exclusively Italian. Alongside the still central role of the 'Ndrangheta, the report highlights "a now equal collaboration with Albanian organised crime, which has progressively abandoned simple labour roles to specialise in logistical services, handling the recovery, storage and distribution of narcotics and which, at the same time, has demonstrated increasing operational autonomy".