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From Ecuador to Dubai: Albanian roots in the global cocaine trade
Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 25 July 2025
In this article
Mejdini’s analysis of organised crime
In an interview for the documentary “No Rules, No Borders”, security expert Fatjona Mejdini analyses the impact of Albanian organised crime on the economy and society, both at home and internationally.
Mejdini stresses that Albanian groups have moved from trafficking people and cannabis in the ’90s to controlling the international cocaine trade. According to her, in the post-2000 period these groups began establishing bases in Latin America, particularly in Ecuador and Colombia, becoming part of the five largest criminal networks in Europe.
“They are no longer just transporters, but important players who control cocaine alliances, prices and markets,” says Mejdini, director of the South Eastern Europe Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
According to her, drug money is being injected into the Albanian economy on a massive scale through construction, the energy sector and real estate.
“The construction of towers reflects no real demand, but a need to launder money,” she says, adding that this phenomenon is destroying competition and strengthening corruption.
Mejdini, author of a meticulous report on connections between groups from the Balkans and those in Latin America, warns that Albania risks experiencing the same scenario as those countries, where drug trafficking brought violence, instability and poverty.
She stresses that Albanian organised crime has built strong connections with local groups on that continent through business alliances and marriages into local criminal families. This strategy, she says, has given Albanians a strong advantage in the trafficking chain.
Meanwhile, she is also concerned about money laundering in Dubai and the use of cryptocurrencies, which she says are becoming tools for evading legal oversight.
GI-TOC’s regional director warns that, beyond the economic consequences, crime is also influencing social models through the glorification of criminal lifestyles on social media. She calls for a strong social response to curb this phenomenon, particularly the recruitment of young people.
“If we do not intervene, we risk criminal money becoming the norm in our economy,” Mejdini concludes.