49 Kilograms of Cocaine Sequestred at the Port of Durrës
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A quantity of 49 kilograms of suspected cocaine was seized by a police operation in the Port of Durrës. The narcotics were found hidden in a banana container coming from Ecuador, through a route involving a stop in Turkey. According to the Voice of America, the consignment of bananas was ordered by the company “Ecoalmax.” The company is administered by the 72-year-old Selim Çekaj, who is the father of Arbër Çekaj, who was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison for trafficking 619 kilograms of cocaine in 2018. Even in that previous episode, the narcotics were transported through a container of bananas from Ecuador to the Port of Durrës. After the operation, the police arrested Selim Çekaj, who denied having anything to do with the drugs found in the cargo.
At the beginning of March the United States Department of State published a report on International Narcotics Control, where it stated that “Albania is a source country of cannabis and a home base for organized crime groups moving narcotics from source countries into European markets,” adding also that “drug trafficking organizations led by or principally consisting of Albanian nationals are active internationally, and their illicit profits are laundered in Albania.”
