FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
A 44-year-old man of Albanian origin was killed in Colombia by a Venezuelan citizen.
The victim has been identified as Artur Tuçi, while the perpetrator has been arrested by the police.
It is initially suspected that the murder occurred to settle scores, while according to foreign media, the perpetrator initially asked for his name and then shot him.
In the paid assassination, a woman accompanying the Albanian was injured.
InSight Crime investigations show that Albanian networks are a key player in drug trafficking in Latin America, using Ecuador as a main base for their transatlantic operations.
These Balkan criminal groups have sent emissaries to South America to negotiate directly with cocaine producers (such as FARC dissidents or Los Urabeños in Colombia) in order to secure the lowest possible wholesale price.
This strategic positioning has allowed them to become major beneficiaries of the cocaine production boom in Latin America, buying the drug for approximately $2,000 to $4,000 per kilogram and reselling it in Europe for $30,000 to $40,000.
Although they are often called the "Albanian mafia", they are in fact decentralized networks, such as the "Bello Company", whose main purpose in Ecuador is to negotiate deals, subcontract the transportation of shipments to Ecuadorian groups, and launder money through the purchase of fictitious export and import companies, especially in the port of Guayaquil.
An exemplary case is that of Dritan Gjika (known as “Tonny”), an Albanian trafficker who settled in Ecuador since 2009, posing as a businessman and building a powerful drug trafficking empire.
Gjika is considered a pioneer, having positioned himself in the supply chain as a key provider of cocaine. His network trafficked tons of Colombian cocaine to Europe via Ecuador and was linked to seizures of more than 9.5 tons.
To operate, Gjika set up a sophisticated network based on the use of fictitious companies, subcontracting, communication through encrypted chats and, most importantly, the protection of high-level contacts within the Ecuadorian economic and security elites, including, according to reports, the former police chief.
The Albanian presence in Guayaquil is also characterized by violent competition between these Balkan networks, which has been manifested through the murders of suspected mafia members in this port city.
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