At least 30 arrested in Ecuador and Spain during investigation into Albanian mafia

Record ID: 1765038

  • Title: At least 30 arrested in Ecuador and Spain during investigation into Albanian mafia
  • Date: 6th February 2024
  • Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (FEBRUARY 6, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF ECUADOR'S ANTI-NARCOTICS POLICE, WILLIAM VILLARROEL, SAYING: "We have busted a structure, an organisation dedicated to the transnational shipment of drugs. This organisation was dedicated to the trafficking of illicit substances and they used the ports of our country to reach their destination in Eur
  • Embargoed: 20th February 2024 20:06
  • Keywords: Albany Ecuador Spain crime mafia
  • Location: QUITO, ECUADOR / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • City: QUITO, ECUADOR / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • Country: Ecuador
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA002832106022024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Police in Ecuador and Spain have arrested at least 30 people in simultaneous operations as part of an investigation into Albanian organized crime, the Ecuadorean attorney general's office said on Tuesday (February 6).
    Prosecutors from both countries carried out 57 raids in six provinces of Ecuador and in four Spanish cities related to alleged money laundering and drug trafficking.
    The raids occurred amid a military offensive launched by Ecuador President Daniel Noboa to combat criminal gangs in the South American country, which he has designated terrorists.
    The money seized is worth around $483,000. Prosecutors also found cash and firearms and seized property and vehicles. Detainees included people from Colombia, Argentina, China, Spain, Ecuador and Albania, Ecuadorean police said, adding that the group was allegedly led by an Albanian citizen.
    (Production: Tito Correa, Gloria Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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