Drug Mafia Utilized Commercial Ships for Operations

Italian police announced on Wednesday the arrest of 61 individuals in four countries and the seizure of 60 million euros ($67.1 million) in connection with an investigation into international drug trafficking and money laundering. This operation exposed criminal drug connections between Albania and Latin America, highlighting the use of shadow networks of illicit Chinese money brokers by criminals in Europe. The arrests and searches were carried out by 400 officers in Italy, Albania, Switzerland, and Poland, with the cooperation of local law enforcement and Europol.

The criminal gang, based in Albania, was involved in importing cocaine from South America into Europe through commercial shipping routes and then transporting it to Italy by trucks. The proceeds from drug sales were reportedly handed over to a parallel Chinese syndicate, which provided a shadow banking service to transfer the illicit funds abroad. This complex money laundering system involved the use of false invoices issued by compliant Italian entrepreneurs to monetize the drug money.

This case is part of a series of operations over the past two years that have uncovered sophisticated shadow banking systems operated by Chinese nationals and utilized by various criminal organizations. The investigation, which began in 2020, utilized tools such as encrypted chat monitoring, telephone wiretaps, and surveillance. In addition to the recent arrests, 21 individuals had been detained in previous months, with 2.5 million euros in cash and 360 kg of drugs seized.

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