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Italian Parliament Report: Albanian Mafia is Sitting as Equal in High-Level Meetings of 'Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra

2026-11-08 18:16:00Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Albanian organized crime groups in Italy are no longer seen simply as collaborators in drug trafficking with the Italian mafia.

In some of Northern Italy's most powerful criminal networks, they have acquired a role that Italian prosecutors describe as increasingly closer to that of traditional mafia organizations.

This is one of the conclusions of the report of Italy's Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission , which examines the extent of the 'Ndrangheta in the economy and territory of the north of the country.

At the center of this transformation is the Hydra investigation, conducted in Lombardy, where authorities have documented relationships between the 'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra, and Albanian criminal groups.

Italian prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti describes representatives of Albanian criminal groups as "a silent but persistent and skilled presence" alongside two of Italy's historic mafia organizations.

According to her testimony, representatives of Albanian groups have been present at the most important moments in the organization's life, including high-level meetings.

The fact that they can sit at the same table and listen to discussions on the organization's core issues, the prosecutor emphasizes, requires a reassessment of their role.

In the report, this position is described as that of increasingly important interlocutors, almost on an equal level with traditional mafia groups.

An alliance that goes beyond drugs

The importance of Albanian groups is particularly related to their operational, logistical and international capabilities in narcotics trafficking.

According to Italian prosecutors, some of these groups have managed to become indispensable interlocutors for Italian mafia organizations in certain segments of the drug market.

But this does not mean that Albanians have replaced the historical mafias.

On the contrary, the report describes a transformation of the Lombardy criminal market, where traditional organizations maintain their structure and influence, while collaborating with foreign groups that possess particular international capacities.

The 'Ndrangheta, according to the document, can simultaneously cooperate with Italian mafias, Albanian groups, South American drug trafficking networks and Chinese money transfer systems, without losing its family structure and ties to Calabria.

This ability to adapt constitutes one of the main characteristics of its expansion.

Italian ports and connections with South America

Another part of the report, based on the testimony of Genoa prosecutor Nicola Piacente, describes the links between Calabrian organizations and Albanian groups in international cocaine trafficking.

According to Piacente, recent investigations have revealed "stable and absolutely peaceful, even strategic, relations" between Calabrian and Albanian organizations.

The ports of Genoa, Vado Ligure and La Spezia are identified as important entry points for drug shipments arriving via sea routes from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Brazil.

The prosecutor describes at least six or seven identified routes for the transportation and unloading of narcotics.

In some cases, Albanian groups have also used divers to remove drugs from ships or port areas.

Investigations have also identified the involvement of logistics and transport workers within the ports, who enable the identification and removal of cargo from containers.

Piacente specifies, however, that the authorities have no evidence of structural involvement of shipping companies.

Milan, the center where drugs turn into capital

According to the report, the Hydra investigation shows that narcotics trafficking is not only a criminal activity in itself, but also the financial source that fuels money laundering and penetration of the legal economy.

The Milan prosecutor's office describes the Milanese territory as one of the most important international hubs for the supply and distribution of drugs.

The capital generated by importing large quantities of narcotics, according to investigators, can be reinvested in economic activity, blurring the line between legitimate business and criminal structures.

In this environment, mafia organizations do not rely solely on violence or territorial control. They use business relationships, financial structures, and international networks of cooperation.

This is precisely where the parliamentary report's most important warning lies: the transformation of the Italian mafia does not mean the disappearance of its traditional structures, but the ability to combine them with new forms of criminal activity.

And in this new architecture, according to the testimony of Italian prosecutors, Albanian criminal groups no longer necessarily remain on the periphery.


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