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Albanian mafia, silent growth in Europe and cases in Sardinia

2026-03-18 08:40:00, Aktualitet CNA

L'Unione Sarda.it

The history of Albanian organized crime begins with a power vacuum. It is the early 1990s: the communist regime of Enver Hoxha had recently fallen and Albania was left without a strong economic structure, with fragile institutions and an unprepared law enforcement agency.

The turning point came in 1997. The collapse of pyramid schemes wiped out the savings of hundreds of thousands of families. Riots broke out, military arsenals were looted, and millions of weapons were lost. In that chaos, criminal groups emerged and consolidated, capable of occupying the spaces left empty by the state.

Italy as the first exit

During the same years, thousands of Albanian citizens crossed the Adriatic. The image of the ship Vlora filled with migrants in the port of Bari remains a symbolic sight of that exodus. Within these migratory flows, in addition to those seeking work and stability, were also involved emerging criminal networks.

Geographical proximity and short sea routes made Italy an ideal platform. Initially, crimes were widespread, theft, robbery and prostitution. But by the mid-1990s, Albanian gangs had established a strategic role in trafficking heroin along the Balkan route.

Over time, the group took a big step forward, directly managing shipments of marijuana cultivated in the Balkans, entering the cocaine market and establishing a stable cooperation with Italian organizations. No longer manual labor, but reliable partners in logistics and distribution.

Flexible structure, family ties

Unlike the historical Italian mafias, Albanian crime does not have a single, distinct structure. There is no centralized "dominant" organization. Instead, it is made up of family clans, linked by ties of blood and territory.

Their strength lies in their internal unity and ability to move rapidly between different countries. Networks in Italy and the rest of Europe provide logistical support, contacts and cover. Each group operates relatively autonomously, but maintains ties to the homeland.

Another distinguishing feature, especially in the 1990s, was direct and demonstrative violence, settling scores, kidnappings and armed clashes. However, over time, many organizations have chosen a lower profile, focusing on profitable trafficking and money laundering.

A stable player in European drug trafficking

Today, Albanian organized crime is considered one of the most dynamic in Europe. International investigations highlight its ability to control entire segments of the cannabis supply chain in the Balkans and to communicate directly with cocaine suppliers in South America.

Its defining characteristic is its network: agile groups, without a single brand but with a strong communal identity. A phenomenon born out of the institutional collapse of the 1990s, it has, within a generation, transformed into a silent but central player in transnational crime.

Drug trafficking and connections with Albanian circles, three major investigations in Sardinia

Over the last ten years, Sardinia has repeatedly appeared in the files of the Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Cagliari District for drug trafficking with links to the Balkans.

No "Albanian mafia" rooted in the island with territorial control emerges, but three operations show a common thread, groups operating in Sardinia embedded in wider networks with Albanian criminal circles.

2016 – Operation “East Pole”

This is the first structured case. The investigation led to the arrest of 30 people, Italian and Albanian, for conspiracy to engage in international drug trafficking. An Albanian fugitive, subject to an international arrest warrant, was also arrested.

2023 – “Family and Friends”

The Antimafia Directorate (DDA) coordinated 40 precautionary measures (22 in prison and 18 under house arrest) against an organization described as Italo-Albanian.

According to investigators, the cocaine also came from Albania, while the cannabis originated from Spain. The estimated turnover was close to 15 million euros.

The activity was concentrated between Cagliari, Quartu and northern Sardinia, with branches in several Italian regions./ CNA