SPAK has issued an official announcement regarding the anti-drug operation. An international criminal group was targeted in this action, with assets worth 12 million euros secured.
Investigations have revealed that from 2019 to 2021, this group operated in Latin America, Belgium, and the Netherlands, where 8 episodes of large-scale cocaine trafficking were documented.
The General Directorate of State Police, in cooperation with SPAK investigators, continues procedural and operational actions to locate other citizens against whom the personal security measure "arrest in prison" has been ordered. Some of these individuals are not within the territory of the Republic of Albania.
8 EPISODES OF NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING
Episode 1 – January-March 2020 – Trafficking of a significant quantity of cocaine during the period January-March 2020. From this quantity, 8.5 kg were seized on March 21, 2020, in the city of Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Episode 2 – April 7-8, 2020 – Trafficking of 1,018 kg of cocaine from Peru to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The shipment had arrived at the Port of Rotterdam on a Colombian vessel, with the narcotics hidden in a refrigerated container containing frozen fruit juice. The sale value was over 1.3 million euros.
Episode 3 – June 6, 2020 – Trafficking of 2020 kg of cocaine from Ecuador to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. This shipment had arrived at the Port of Rotterdam on a sea vessel from the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and was destined for a company in Hungary. Part of this shipment belonged to this criminal group.
Episode 4 – June 26, 2020 – Attempted trafficking of 516 kg of cocaine, seized at the Muelle Sur Port Terminal, DP World Callao, Peru, also destined for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Episode 5 – June 30, 2020 – Trafficking of 500 kg of cocaine, seized at the Port of Rotterdam, which had arrived in a container from Colombia containing canned tuna and was destined for a company in Germany.
Episode 6 – August 7, 2020 – Trafficking of a significant quantity of cocaine, estimated at around 1600 kg, from which 104 kg were seized on the same date on highway A2 near the city of Abcoude, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Episode 7 – August 16, 2020 – Trafficking of approximately 1100 packages with a gross weight of 1238.39 kg of cocaine, which was hidden in a banana shipment in a container coming from Ecuador to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and had arrived at the Port of Rotterdam on a sea vessel from the Port of Antwerp, destined for a company in The Hague.
Episode 8 – October 1-2, 2020 – Trafficking of 531 kg of cocaine at the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, a quantity seized by Dutch authorities, hidden in a container loaded with dried grapes, destined for Sweden.