The Dutch TV channel has prepared a documentary entitled "Narco Documentary" about Albanian criminal groups in the Netherlands and their investments in Albania.
It must be said that there is a bad image for Albanians in the Netherlands, which is nourished by the local and central media. Even in this documentary, the video editors have taken care to mostly reflect ugly images as can be clearly seen and understood by anyone who has visited Tirana at least once.
Anyway, we have covered a part of the documentary translated by our collaborator in the Netherlands Lola Paskali.
Part of the documentary:
The Albanian drug network, which for years operated in Geleen, Netherland, and the surrounding area, seems to be able to easily clean up the millions it earned in its own country. Investments are made in cars and real estate.
Justice has estimated that the criminal group earned 1.8 million euros a year on 3 large cannabis plantations in Limburg.
However, the number of plantations, but also the profit of the drug network, was many times greater. The protagonists were not tempted to show their wealth. At least; not in the Netherlands.
It is known, for example, that the main suspect Haxhi P. (head of the criminal group) likes to drive his Mercedes when he is in Albania. And he is not alone. For a country with an average income of 300 euros, there is an extraordinary number of expensive cars on the road.
Moreover, Albania is seeing on the other hand that the number of inhabitants in the country is decreasing instead of increasing, but many new and expensive projects have been launched in the real estate sector.
The capital Tirana, in particular, is full of new buildings that are hardly used or not used at all. For example, a luxury hotel in the center can accommodate hundreds of clients, but only a few dozen beds need to be made ready every day. And the new national team football stadium Air Albania is only used once or twice a month.
According to investigative journalists on the ground, the Albanian government is turning a blind eye to large-scale money laundering practices.
"Cars, buildings, everyone knows there's something in it. Criminals do not even bother to hide their wealth. They know that no one can harm them. "If necessary, they pay bribes to politicians." - says journalist Klodiana Lala.
The standard recipe is to move abroad, usually to Italy, England, or the Netherlands, and make money there through drug trafficking.
Profit is invested in Albania
With some regularity, the ‘heads’ of the drug network come to visit their country. For example, the leader of the ‘Limburg’ criminal group, Haxhi, traveled to his country of birth six times between 2018 and until his arrest in May 2019.
This is clear from the travel data provided by L1. He continued to use different travel routes.
Gent Ibrahimi, the head of justice in Albania, says that there really is a system to fight money laundering. And that system works.
"It is not easy to make money in the Netherlands and build a big facility here," says Ibrahimi. "But I have to admit that this seems to be happening," he added.
The Minister of Justice of the Netherlands, Ferdinand Grapperhaus traveled to Tirana last year for a consultation with his colleague Ibrahimi.
Purpose: ‘Detention of criminal Albanians in the Netherlands’.
"It was a good conversation," says Ibrahim.