Operation GORGON Raids Lead to Seizure of Real Estate and Cash Assets
By Kaila Hall
On July 31, 2024, European authorities1 conducted raids in Tirana, Albania that resulted in the arrests of 15 suspected members of a major Albanian organized crime group. During Operation GORGON, Albanian, Belgian, Dutch, and French authorities worked with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) to carry out raids that seized real estate and €1 million in cash.
Authorities believe that this criminal group is responsible for contract killings, drug trafficking, and cryptocurrency money laundering. Several police agencies have linked this criminal group with at least seven murders both inside and outside Albania between 2019 and 2020. Europol did not release the name of the high-profile Albanian crime organization.
Based on SKY ECC data, Europol established key details on the criminal network’s activities. This information was subsequently provided to the Albanian Special Prosecution Office for Anticorruption and Organised Crime, which launched an investigation. Additionally, authorities found that the criminal network had hired assassins to execute members of rival Albanian gangs.
On July 31, Europol sent three members from its European Serious Organised Crime Centre and European Cybercrime Centre to Tirana to help carry out the raids. Additional participants in the investigation include Albania’s National Bureau of Investigation and State Police, as well as Belgium’s Federal Police, France’s National Police, and the Dutch National Police.
Europol announced that it had arrested a “prominent money launderer” in Albania’s capital. The individual revealed that he had collaborated with numerous high-profile gangs. He was predominantly involved in murders, corruption, and large-scale drug trafficking.
Founded in 1998, Europol aims to “support its Member States in preventing and combating all forms of serious international and organized crime, cybercrime and terrorism.”2 Europol’s mission and international law enforcement capabilities have helped conduct investigations into transnational organized crime and drug trafficking operations.
The July 31 operation was Europol’s second anti-drug trafficking operation that led to the arrests of Albanian gang members this year. In February 2024, Italian and Albanian authorities worked with Eurojust and Europol to conduct an operation against a major drug trafficking network.3 Authorities found heroin, cocaine, and marijuana smuggled into Germany and Spain. The operation led to 59 arrests in Albania, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
In recent years, Albania has dealt with a surge in transnational organized crime. In February 2024, police in Ecuador and Spain arrested4 over 30 people as part of an investigation into Albanian organized crime in February as well. In 2019, British news outlets reported5 that the Albanian mafia had seized control of the UK drug trafficking industry, primarily smuggling cocaine in east London.
To combat the rise in transnational organized crime, Eurojust and Albania signed a Cooperation Agreement in October 2018.6 In December 2023, the United Nations Security Council also adopted the Presidential Statement7 on Transnational Organized Crime, of which Albania is a signatory. The statement urges states to bolster international cooperation, laws, and borders to combat crime.
Kaila Hall is an intern at IELR. She is a rising senior at Cornell University.
[1] Europol (2024). 15 arrested in crackdown on high-profile Albanian criminal network, Europol Media & Press, https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/15-arrested-in-crackdown-high-profile-albanian-criminal-network
[2] Europol (2024). Our Thinking, About Europol,
https://www.europol.europa.eu/about-europol/our-thinking
[3] Europol (2024). Major blow to Albanian drug trafficking network: 59 arrests across Europe, Europol Media & Press, https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/major-blow-to-albanian-drug-trafficking-network-59-arrests-across-europe
[4] Alexandra Valencia (2024). At least 30 arrested in Ecuador, Spain in Albanian mafia probe, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/least-30-arrested-ecuador-spain-during-investigation-into-albanian-mafia-2024-02-06/
[5] Mark Townsend (2019). Kings of cocaine: how the Albanian mafia seized control of the UK drugs trade, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/kings-of-cocaine-albanian-mafia-uk-drugs-crime
[6] European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (2024). Albania, European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation,
[7] United Nations Security Council (2023). Security Council Adopts Presidential Statement on Transnational Organized Crime, Urges States to Ramp Up Cooperation, Laws, Borders to Combat It, UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases,
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