10 tons of drugs in one year/ Authorities on alert, crackdown on Albanian mafia and the "Balkan Clan"

2026-02-20 12:42:00, Kronika CNA

10 tons of drugs in one year/ Authorities on alert, crackdown on Albanian mafia

Spanish authorities have cracked down on another drug trafficking case led by the Albanian mafia.

According to a local media article, powerful Albanian mafias, those who control drug trafficking, continue their efforts to use the port of Vigo in Spain as an entry point for cocaine shipments.

In a joint operation by Spanish authorities, two Albanian citizens were arrested who attempted to enter the port of Vigo with 80 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a refrigeration system.

The drug shipment came from Ecuador.

This is the fourth blow that the authorities are dealing to the Albanian mafia and cocaine trafficking groups operating for the "Balkan Clan".

The latest operation began in the early hours of February 15, after the suspect container was selected by the Vigo Customs Risk Analysis Unit. The container was subjected to X-ray inspection by the Border Radiological Control Unit, which revealed that cocaine was hidden in the cooling system.

Following this discovery, agents from the EDOA group of Pontevedra and ECO Galicia, both units of the 'Guardia Civil', as well as the Joint Customs Surveillance Unit in Vigo, launched an investigation that led to the identification of a criminal organization made up of individuals with Albanian citizenship. Their aim was to extract the narcotic substance hidden inside the container located in the port area.

The cocaine recovery attempt took place in the early hours of last Sunday morning. Agents managed to arrest the two Albanian “extractors” as they attempted to enter the contaminated container.

Two other people who were supposed to take part in the operation managed to escape.

Following the arrests, authorities seized 61 packages of cocaine as well as various drug recovery tools: four large sports bags, a folding ladder, a drill, plastic ties, two phones and a vehicle.

On February 16, during a detailed inspection of the container, which also involved the use of portable radiological equipment from the Customs Surveillance in Vigo, nine more packages of cocaine were discovered hidden among the refrigeration system machinery. In total, over 80 kilograms of this substance, worth around 1.5 million euros, were seized.

The 'Guardia Civil' and the Customs Surveillance Service are keeping the investigation open against this criminal organization of international character and other arrests are not ruled out, according to police sources. The actions are being coordinated by the judge in charge of the Investigation Section at the Court of Vigo.

This is the second seizure this year at the port of Vigo.

A month ago, Operation Monterrey ended with the seizure of 200 kilograms of cocaine and eight arrests, all part of another clan of Albanian origin that used the same system: sending cargo in containers from Ecuador, one of the main departure points for this drug in the last decade.

The port of Quito, controlled mainly by these mafias, is one of the stops on the trade route with South America that operates from the port of Vigo through the German company Hapag Lloyd. The opening in April 2024 of this weekly maritime line for the transport of fruit and frozen fish has created opportunities for new markets, but also a great advantage for the "Balkan Clan".

Over the past year, 10 tons of cocaine have been seized in the port of Vigo, which has alarmed anti-drug groups and fiscal and customs services.

The largest shipment seized to date in Galicia (7.5 tons) entered through this port in December 2023, camouflaged in several containers of frozen tuna fillets, although it was discovered in a warehouse in Cambre (A Coruña). Even behind it, the "tentacles" of the Balkan Clan are visible.