Albania’s top police officer took to the stage in February 2018 to announce a milestone in his force’s fight against drugs: the seizure of 1ton of cocaine hidden among bananas arriving from Latin America.
It was the country’s biggest-ever drug haul and a welcome public relations coup for Tirana, which has been fighting accusations of becoming a narco-state.
Smuggling drugs in refrigerated containers of bananas or other fruits has become a favored tactic of traffickers in recent years. The fruit helps speed the containers’ movement through customs, because port officials don’t always have time to thoroughly inspect the cargo without the risk of spoiling tons of produce. The cooling systems inside the containers also provide excellent hiding places. Click here to read a 2018 OCCRP investigation about how cocaine was smuggled into Belgium inside banana shipments.
A litany of errors allowed him to evade capture and keep trading unchecked for years. Far from being a success, the case exposes major failures of justice systems in both Albania and Ecuador, several law enforcement officers say.
In September 2019, Albanian and Greek police made another significant seizure: 137 kilograms of cocaine hidden in bananas being sent from Ecuador to Durres, Albania’s largest port.
People arrested:
Musa Gjikola, 34 years old resident in Tirana
Genti Balliu alias Flamur Balliu 37 years old, resident in Tirana
Ramazan Rraja, 27 years old resident in Nikël
Fioralb Rraja, 24 years old, resident in Nikël,
Bledar Pepaj, 29 years old, resident in Puka;
Fatmir Xhecuka, 33 years old, resident of Laç;
K. N. (Lithuanian citizen)
S. C. (Greek citizen)./abcnews.al
