2024-08-02 17:10:49
Albanian authorities, in cooperation with Europol and Belgian, Dutch and French law enforcement agencies, have arrested 15 suspected members of a notorious Albanian criminal group under investigation by multiple jurisdictions, Euronews Albania reported.
Within the framework of the operation called “Gorgon” (GORGON) and carried out on July 31 in the Albanian capital Tirana, searches were carried out on key figures of the criminal network. As a result of the operation, significant property was seized, including real estate and one million euros in cash.
The Albanian criminal group was hierarchically structured and had branches that operated internationally. The group was composed mostly of relatives and their associates from the same area in Albania. Members of the criminal group are believed to be responsible for numerous contract killings, large-scale drug trafficking and laundering of ill-gotten assets through complex cryptocurrency transactions.
The investigation also stated that the leader of the criminal group was his associates ordered the murders of several members of other Albanian criminal groups by hiring assassins. This criminal group is credited with at least seven murders between 2019 and 2020, some of which took place outside Albania.
On the day of the operation, three experts from Europol in the field of serious crime, organized crime and cybercrime were in Tirana to support the Albanian authorities in their law enforcement actions, BTA writes.
The operation in Tirana was carried out by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organized Crime of Albania (SPAK), the National Investigation Bureau within SPAK (BKH), the State Police of Albania with the assistance of the Belgian Federal Police, the French National Police and the Dutch National Police.