ASSETS OF BROTHERS LINKED TO 17-TONNE COCAINE SMUGGLING SEIZED

TIRANA, OCTOBER 22 /SRNA/ - Albania's Special Prosecutor's Office has seized assets worth around 850,000 euros linked to two brothers, identified by the initials A. Ć. and F. Ć., who are suspected of being involved in an international criminal organization that smuggled 17 tonnes of cocaine from Latin America to European ports.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said the suspects are accused of drug trafficking, money laundering, organizing a criminal group, and committing criminal offenses as part of a criminal organization and a structured criminal group, Euronews Albania reported.

A total of 16 people are under investigation, the statement said.

The seizure of the two brothers’ movable and immovable property was ordered by the Special Court of First Instance.

According to the Special Prosecutor's Office, the criminal organization, which had an extensive international network, cooperated with other criminal groups to facilitate the transportation of drugs to European ports. It invested a large portion of its proceeds in real estate and businesses in Albania and abroad.

"The investigation was carried out in close cooperation with Europol and the competent authorities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, and was based on the analysis of encrypted communications on the Sky platform," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The investigation uncovered shipments of cocaine weighing several tonnes being transported from Latin America to major EU ports, including Hamburg and Antwerp.

It also established the roles of individual members of the criminal group and documented the entire chain of transfers of proceeds from criminal activities.