By | Tirana Times | May 29, 2025
ROME — Albanian criminal networks have entrenched themselves across Italy, forging strong alliances with the country’s most powerful mafia syndicates, according to a sweeping new report by Italy’s anti-mafia directorate (DIA), presented this week to the Italian parliament.
The 424-page report—among the most extensive ever issued by the DIA—names Albanian organized crime as one of the most complex and structured foreign criminal phenomena operating in Italy. It documents a vast operational presence, spanning the entire peninsula, and highlights close partnerships with Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Calabrian ’Ndrangheta, and Neapolitan Camorra crime families.
“The Albanian criminal underworld has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for expansion, adaptation, and consolidation across Italy,” the report states. Drug trafficking remains the cornerstone of its operations, facilitated by high-profit margins and well-established channels with Latin American cartels, Spain, and Albania itself.
The report’s release follows a major anti-drug operation conducted jointly by Italian and Albanian authorities earlier this month, further underscoring the scale of the threat. Codenamed “Bridge” (“Ura”), the five-year investigation culminated in over 50 arrest warrants—29 in Albania and 22 in Italy—targeting the so-called “Troplini Group,” a cocaine trafficking syndicate rooted in the Albanian port city of Durrës. Authorities said the network spanned Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands and laundered millions through businesses including restaurants, construction firms, and even a private television station.
While Albanian authorities hailed the cooperation as a milestone, critics say the case reveals more troubling truths: that organized crime has penetrated not just markets but state institutions. Allegations of state capture, delayed arrests after recent elections, and links between suspects and top government figures have reignited concerns over selective justice and democratic erosion.
A Mafia Model with Albanian Characteristics
According to the DIA, Albanian criminal groups in Italy exhibit a dual structure: some operate as fluid, multi-ethnic cells involved in property crimes, while others resemble traditional mafia organizations—deeply embedded, highly organized, and often violent. Internal loyalty is reinforced through familial or regional ties, typically tracing back to the same town or region in Albania. These connections, the report notes, are solidified by codes of conduct and shared cultural norms.
“A defining trait of Albanian groups is their systematic use of violence—both for internal conflict resolution and external intimidation,” the report states. “They have evolved into long-lasting criminal organizations with operational methods mirroring Italian mafia traditions.”
Perhaps most striking is their logistical capability. The DIA notes that Albanian networks directly import large quantities of cocaine from Latin America to supply cells across Italy. Their ability to offer competitively priced narcotics has allowed them to build robust ties with Italian mafia families, avoiding turf wars by focusing on wholesale supply while leaving street-level distribution to local affiliates.
The Adriatic corridor plays a central role. The so-called “Adriatic Route”—a maritime and air corridor between Albania and Italy—has become a major conduit for drug trafficking. DIA investigators found operational synergies between Albanian and Italian crime groups in regions such as Puglia, facilitated by longstanding familial and commercial links between the two shores.
Criminal Networks, Construction Boom, and Alleged State Collusion
Back in Albania, the Durrës-based Troplini group has become a symbol of how criminal networks can blur the line between illicit enterprise and legitimate business. Investigators seized assets worth millions, including luxury real estate and companies that had obtained state permits—raising alarm about corruption in Albania’s booming construction sector, especially in Tirana.
Analysts argue that criminal syndicates have capitalized on institutional weaknesses to infiltrate local economies and political systems. EU reports and watchdog organizations have long warned of a dangerous nexus between politics, real estate, and crime in Albania, where laundered drug money may be shaping urban skylines and influencing public policy.
Two police officers and a lawyer are currently under investigation for alleged ties to the group, deepening suspicions of institutional complicity. Opposition leaders have accused the ruling Socialist Party of delaying enforcement until after elections and protecting politically connected suspects.
From Partner to Paradox
Despite its EU aspirations and NATO membership, Albania remains mired in governance challenges that threaten its democratic trajectory. Critics say Western powers have tolerated or overlooked corruption in Tirana in exchange for regional stability and cooperation on migration—creating a paradox in which international law enforcement success exposes deeper institutional rot.
“The regime in Tirana is increasingly relying on a transactional relationship with the West,” one political analyst told Tirana Times. “It offers stability, and in return, democratic standards are quietly downgraded.”
While the joint Italy-Albania operation demonstrates the potential of cross-border cooperation, it also underscores the urgent need to address the root causes that allow criminal syndicates to thrive: weak institutions, selective enforcement, and political shielding.
Until those issues are tackled, critics warn, the fine line between state and syndicate will continue to blur—and with it, Albania’s democratic future will remain at risk.
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