Vincenzo Musacchio, lawyer and professor of criminal law, has dedicated an article to Huffington Post the connection between the Albanian and the Italian mafia. He, as a professional and a good connoisseur of the field, has listed all the reasons why the Albanian and Italian mafias have found the language of cooperation with each other very well. While at the end he listed the ways how to intervene to destroy the relationship built, for the benefit of both countries.
FULL ARTICLE:
Relations between the Italian and Albanian mafias are constantly evolving. “Land of Eagles” has already been partially colonized by the Italian mafia. Colonization is not aimed at transferring criminal groups to the area, but at co-operation between mafias sharing similar interests, especially in the wake of economic developments expected for Albania. Albania’s entry into the European Union, for example, will be an excellent investment opportunity for both mafias. The dominant role of Albanian crime in drug trafficking in Italy has created an increasingly intense link between the two criminal organizations, not only in the drug market.
In Italy, the level of criminal risk of Albanian mafias puts them in first place among foreign mafias, followed by Nigerian, Chinese and those of Eastern Europe, Russian, Romanian and Bulgarian. On the front of drug trafficking, Albanians are now a guarantee, as suppliers of raw materials, as well as couriers and drug dealers, as they have settled in various European countries and have established stable relationships with drug traffickers in every part of the world. globit. Albania’s favorable geographical position offers a direct connection with Italy, therefore, even for this reason, Italian organized crime has many businesses in common with the Albanian one. They range from drugs to arms trafficking, from human trafficking to organ trafficking. As a result, the Adriatic route is not only characterized by the passage of drugs from Albania to Italy but also affects the rest of Europe. Albanian criminals who arrived in Italy about thirty years ago, after the fall of communism, committed themselves to burglary, robbery and prostitution. Then in Albania they started growing and producing marijuana independently and at the same time they became the safest entry into Europe for heroin from Turkey and Afghanistan. Taken together, these factors have led to a qualitative leap, bringing rivers of money and developing the criminal skills of Albanians in the international drug trade. Today they have direct relations with all Italian mafias, without exception. For logistical reasons they have a good relationship with the Apulian mafia and with Ndrangheta. The Italian mafia can enter Albania undisturbed as it is now silent and market oriented and brings large sums of money to be laundered. Albania in the future will be a country with significant potential for economic development. As a result, Italian mafias are now ready to take advantage of any economically viable sector.
The Albanian government will have to prepare the necessary measures against the infiltration of Italian organized crime if it does not want to help passively and then submit to their unlimited power. Our Mafia, in particular the Ndrangheta, have become true multinationals, operating in all areas of broad economic development. Where there is economic growth there is the mafia that invests. If in the future there will be economic development predicted in Albania, there will undoubtedly be the presence of our organized crime that will infiltrate without ever coming into conflict with the indigenous mafias.
The Albanian government will have to start fighting its mafia seriously and then start thinking about those who come across the border. The model to be inspired is definitely that of the fight against the Italian mafia. It will therefore be necessary to strengthen prison security; fight organized crime and links to politics and the economic-financial world; fight corruption effectively; isolate all dangerous prisoners to prevent their communication with criminal organizations outside.
Another problem he will have to face is his judicial system, which needs to be reformed and improved. Bilateral relations of co-operation between the Albanian and Italian authorities in the fight against organized crime will also need to be improved. In Albania, the mafia has ties to the political class and is often in collaboration with the police and the judiciary. Transparency International lists Albania as the most corrupt country in the entire Balkan area. Parliament and government will be polluted by the mafia, and revenues from drug trafficking are an essential part of a corrupt economic and political system. Without responsible cooperation between the Albanian and Italian authorities, it will be difficult in the near future to achieve significant results in the fight against organized crime in both countries. Without these reforms, the link between the two mafias, instead of breaking down, will be strengthened with new risks, as a consequence, for Italy and Albania.