Albanian mafia
| Founded | 1950–present |
|---|---|
| Territory | Balkans (Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece), Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, United States, Netherlands, Honduras, Israel, China, Sweden, Norway, Finland and other parts of Europe |
| Ethnicity | Albanians |
| Criminal activities | Arms trafficking, murder, extortion, fencing, robbery, human trafficking, blackmailing, loan sharking, drug trafficking, theft, money laundering, assault, pimping, and bribery |
| Allies | Sicilian Mafia, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, Turkish mafia, British Firms, and Croatian mafia |
The Albanian Mafia or Albanian organized crime (Albanian: Mafia Shqiptare) are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is highly active in Europe, North America, South America, and various other parts of the world including the Middle East and Asia. The Albanian Mafia participates in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including trafficking in drugs, arms, humans, and human organs. The Albanian criminal scenario is characterized by diversified criminal plans which, in their complexity, show one of the highest criminal capacities in the world. In Albania alone, there are over 15 mafia families that control organized crime. According to reports, the Albanian mafia has monopolized various international affiliations from as far east as Israel, to as far west as South America. These reports primarily indicate a strong connection between politicians and various Albanian mafia families. According to the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS), Albanian mafia groups are actually hybrid organizations (various sectors of society), often involved in both criminal and political activities.
The Albanian Mafia, in its entirety, constitutes one of the highest crime generating elements in the world, combining the “traditional” characteristics – plainly manifest in the rigid internal discipline, in the clan structure, in the “endogamic closure” which increases the impermeability, the reliability and the endogenous solidity – with modern and innovative elements, such as trans-nationality, commercial imprinting and the criminogenous culture of service. The massive logistics to almost anywhere and the syncretic nature of Albanian crime has facilitated its establishment outside of the mother country and its integration with the local criminality, exploiting the opportunities inherent in the entire compatriot network.
In the United States, the term "Albanian Mafia" may include or refer specifically to various Albanian-American organized crime groups, such as the Rudaj Organization, Albanian Boys, or Krasniqi crew, all based in New York City. Albanian-American crime groups vary in the extent of their connections to Albanian mafia groups in Albania or Europe, ranging from loosely connected or mostly independent of Albanian mafias in Europe to being essentially American extensions of European Albanian mafia groups.
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Wikipedia