An Albanian cocaine trafficking gang has been busted by the Federal Judicial Police in Belgium. Eight people have been arrested, while four of them have been remanded in prison following a decision by judicial authorities.
The investigation began about a year ago, after police received information that large quantities of cocaine were being stored in an apartment in Berchem, Antwerp. According to foreign media , a 48-year-old Albanian served as an intermediary between Albanian and Latin American criminal groups.
According to the Antwerp prosecutor’s office, he is suspected of coordinating the transportation, extraction and distribution of drugs, while also having contacts with smuggling groups in other European countries and as far away as Australia.
During the investigation, police had previously seized two shipments of cocaine weighing 46 and 53 kilograms.
“The General” is also in handcuffs
In June, investigators discovered that the main suspect had contacts with a 52-year-old Albanian man wanted internationally for a murder committed in Italy in 1997.
This is Gert Generali, known by the nickname “The General”, who was arrested in Antwerp by the FAST team of the Federal Police.
He is accused of killing a man in Milan in 1997, with a gun hidden among a bouquet of flowers. His extradition to Italy is still pending.
Seizures during inspections
During searches conducted in Antwerp, Berchem, Deurne, Kapellen, Brussels and other areas, police found concealed firearms and ammunition, bulletproof vests, signal jamming devices, cash, a money counting machine, counterfeit passports and identity cards, as well as presses and molds for producing cocaine blocks.
Of the six suspects presented before the investigating judge, four have been arrested, one has been released on bail and another has been released.
The investigation continues under the direction of the Antwerp Federal Judicial Police, in cooperation with authorities in other countries and Europol.
As part of the operation, 37 kilograms of cocaine were also seized in Albania, hidden in a refrigerated container.