Following an investigation launched in March 2016, Italian police said Monday that 18 members of organizations that trafficked drugs from Albania to Italy were arrested.
According to official sources of Italian police, the arrests were carried out in some areas of Materas, Bari, Leces, Fogias, Milan and Salerno. According to these sources, arrests had previously been for this network by Albanian police. Italian police suspect that the detainees were involved in three criminal organizations dealing with marijuana and cocaine trafficking and, in addition to the seizure of tens of kilograms of marijuana, the police also seized property assets and group business activities.Accordint the Italian police the investigated over the past two years of have proved the Albanian organized crime in Bari, other criminal organizations in Puglia and active clans in Albania, particularly in the city of Vlora.
The Italian police said that had been able to identify marijuana transport routes through powerful speedboad riders by fixing GPS devices in navigation and rebuilding the drug traffic flow in Italian regions.
Italian police have also confirmed the arrests in Albania of group members in March of this year. The commander of Bari Carabinier Umberto Pepe told reporters that "essential for investigations was the help of justice collaborators and Albanian police forces who in March of this year arrested in Vlora members of the criminal organization from where Italian groups were provided.