Albanian Mafia Quietly Evading Control in Ecuador

The Albanians have had a common strategy in the countries where they arrive, including Ecuador: to show themselves as successful entrepreneurs and investors.

The Albanian mafia was behind the drug shipment found in the Avalancha 258 operation, in May 2019, in Puerto Bolívar, where a container of 30 banana boxes with 388 packages of cocaine was found.

They are cautiously linked to companies, mainly agricultural, to camouflage the drug they send to Albania, the country from which the drug is distributed to other European nations.

Alessandro Ford, an InsightCrime investigator, says in a BBC report that the Albanian mafia came to Latin America to do their own business, since the year 2000.

His main reason is to buy cocaine at a low price, through contacts made with cartels from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.  

Mario Pazmiño, former head of Army Intelligence, confirms that it is important for this mafia to coordinate drug shipments to Albania, because it is the most accessible point to enter the caches into Europe.

From Albania, the product can be placed in Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Czech Republic, France, Spain, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Mafia easily enters Ecuador 

They came to our country because of the facilities to enter and even more since 2008, since a visa was no longer required, and they could stay as tourists for up to three months. Thus, the Albanians began to take shape in Ecuador on the path of successful entrepreneurs.

But the migratory records available from the Ministry of the Interior only account for the migratory flow since 2017. In that year, 168 Albanians arrived in the country and 171 left. Between that year and January 2023, 982 citizens of that country have entered and 981 have left. 

It must be taken into account that, since August of last year, Ecuador requires a visa, but this data also only reflects official income. Former prosecutor Agapito Valdez says that international organized crime finds ways to evade formal controls, so it is common for them to falsify documentation. 

In addition, they impersonate identities, change names and manage to enter a country to obtain irregular negotiations. This was also exacerbated by the withdrawal of the Police from immigration controls, which was ordered in 2011 by former President Rafael Correa. 

From the analysis of the data, it is striking that the number of Albanians who declare that they come to the country for business is very low. In the six years analyzed, only 24 said that the reason for their trip was business, compared to 709 who said they entered for tourism. 

Albanians settle in coastal cities 

According to the Police, they arrive at expensive hotels and do not acquire goods, rather they rent luxurious houses with strong security and in this way the Albanians leave no trace in Ecuador of their career as successful entrepreneurs. They have been strategically located in coastal cities of Guayas, Manabí and El Oro, through which the alkaloid passes until it leaves the country. 

By disguising themselves as big businessmen, they have entered local companies, especially fruit exporters, such as bananas, to get the drug to Europe.

First, they store the drugs in cities near Ecuadorian ports, wrapping the cargo in carbon to avoid detection and placing the logos of the organizations that own the cargo. 

They have links and help from local gangs 

According to police investigations, Albanians know very well how to contaminate containers and go unnoticed, as they have the complicity of port officials and do so with extreme security and caution. 

There are police operations that have shown their ability to mobilize drugs. On June 26, 2014, for example, the Balkans operation was carried out in Guayaquil, Samborondón and Durán. There, a narco-criminal organization was dismantled, in which Albanians, Kosovars and Ecuadorians stood out. 

The Police seized 277,768 grams of cocaine, 104 of marijuana, 27 of heroin, USD 38,000, 32,000 euros, seven automobiles, and two 9mm firearms. 

Operation Avalanche 258, in May 2019, instead took place in Puerto Bolívar, where a container containing 30 boxes of bananas was found with 388 packages of cocaine, destined for Europe.

Albanians also operate with local mafias. This was evidenced in the recent capture of the Albanian Artur Rrapaj, in Samborondón, who has been linked to the Nueva Generación cartel and is being prosecuted for alleged unjustified private enrichment. 

The 36-year-old foreigner was found with USD 321,000 in cash. He was born in the city of Fier, one of the main industrial centers of Albania, located in the northeast of that country. He has a criminal record in his country and a passport that expired 10 years ago. 

Ten companies involved in alleged drug trafficking and money laundering 

Another Albanian who has caused a remittance in high government circles is Dritan Gjika. He appears as a partner of Rubén Cherres, close to Danilo Carrera, brother-in-law of the president, Guillermo Lasso. 

Now he is being investigated for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering. 

This 47-year-old man arrived in the country in 2009 and three years later managed to obtain an ID in Guayaquil. Starting in 2014, he established himself as a businessman alone and then with Cherres. 

Gjika appears as president and shareholder of the Cannmaná firm, supposedly dedicated to the production and marketing of cannabis, based in La Maná (Cotopaxi).  

In addition, it is a partner of six other companies, all domiciled in Guayaquil, in the Sky Building. They are related to the export of fruits, especially bananas, and to the real estate business. 

According to the Assembly’s Anti-Corruption Front, at least seven real estate companies did not comply with money laundering control regulations. 

Along with Gjika there is another investigated Albanian: Spahiu Erjon, who have migratory movements between 2010 and 2014.