The Special Court of first Instance for The fight against Corruption And organized Crime in albania issued its final decision in a criminal case involving two defendants for participation in a criminal network operating In albania and Norway.
The first defendant was sentenced to 11 years in prison for serious offenses, such as drug production and trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, establishing and directing a criminal organization, as well as committing offenses within the framework of organized criminal activity. The sentence was reduced by one third due to an abbreviated procedure.
The second defendant was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison for participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and participation in organized criminal activity. In this case too, the sentence was reduced due to the shortened procedure.
The court decided to freeze and transfer to the state certain assets, including three mobile phones, a car and a piece of agricultural land of approximately 1,900 square meters, which had been seized as a precaution.
The case began in 2019 and developed with the cooperation of Norwegian authorities. The two defendants were tried in absentia, as they had been arrested on an international warrant.
In the same context, another woman was finally sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison for participation in the network, drug trafficking, money laundering and participation in an organized criminal group.
The investigations revealed the existence of a criminal group involved in the smuggling, trafficking, sale, transport and storage of drugs, as well as money laundering. Their activities spanned from 2018 to 2019 and involved mainly Albanians, permanent or temporary residents of Norway.
The main defendant is considered the leader of the group and is alleged to have organized the transport of drugs from Albania to Norway. There, drugs such as cocaine and cannabis, weighing a total of at least 14 kilograms, were distributed, yielding large financial profits that were then transported back to Albania.
The money was moved through associates, either by physical cash transfer or through financial companies. The second defendant had the role of manager of the illegal proceeds, acting on behalf of the leader.
The female defendant played a role in both drug trafficking and the transfer of profits from Norway to Albania. She is also said to have acted as the person responsible for recording the proceeds.
Norwegian justice had also convicted members of the same criminal group for similar offenses, in a decision issued in 2023.
In a separate asset seizure proceeding, the Special Court ordered the seizure of two apartments in Tirana belonging to companies affiliated with the main defendant, as well as a luxury car.
The execution of the decision was assigned to the competent state authority for the management of frozen assets, with the assistance of the police.
