Five suspects have been arrested in Germany and Norway as part of an investigation into an Albanian drug trafficking organisation that led to the discovery of 27 kilos of heroin and one kilo of cocaine in a car crossing the border between Sweden and Norway.
Three of the arrests were made in Germany, where the gang is based while two people were detained in Norway, the European judicial cooperation agency Eurojust reported.
Investigations into the criminal gang began last summer and pointed to the existence of an Albanian network trafficking drugs from Germany to Norway. At the beginning of October 2019, officers from the German Special Operations Command stormed an apartment in the city of Erfurt in central Germany and arrested three suspects. Large amounts of drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, were seized during the raids in and around Erfurt.
In August, Police in Saxony-Anhalt had discovered a plantation of 1260 marijuana plants that they believed was operated by the same Albanian gang based in Erfurt.
Investigators now believe that the Albanian group has been bringing kilos of drugs to Thuringia and neighbouring states for several years, using Erfurt as a logistical centre from which it delivered drugs across Europe.
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office believe the gang has ties to with the Italian mafia organisation Ndrangheta, allowing it to extend its reach across Europe.
They are also suspected of having connections to Chechen drug gangs that now dominate the market after displacing the Armenia mafia groups that were heavily involved in the crystal meth trade in Germany.
