Eight arrested as Albanian-Italian drug network broken up in Apulia
Italian authorities broke up a drug trafficking network moving large quantities of marijuana from Albania to Italy, arresting eight people including three Albanians in Apulia on drugs and arms smuggling charges. Police seized over a tonne of marijuana plus cocaine, heroin, explosives and weapons.
Italian authorities dismantled a major drug trafficking network that moved large quantities of marijuana from Albania into Italy, arresting eight people including three Albanians in the south-eastern region of Apulia.[1]The operation, codenamed Illyria, targeted the suspects on drugs and arms smuggling charges.[1]
Seizures
Police seized over a tonne of marijuana along with a kilogram of cocaine and heroin, 4.5 kilograms of gelignite, an AK-47 assault rifle and 170 bullets.[1]The report presents the operation as evidence that trafficking through Albania toward the southern tip of Italy continues despite Albanian police crackdowns on growers.[1]It notes that cannabis cultivation remains a major law-enforcement problem in Albania even after the fall of Lazarat, a village once notorious as a haven of cannabis production.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Carabinieri of the Falerone station arrested a 41-year-old local woman in her home on information about a dealing activity, wounding one officer in a finger. The search, aided by a Guardia di Finanza dog unit, seized over 95 grams of marijuana, over 66 grams of hashish and 22 marijuana branches; she was taken to Pesaro prison.
State Police stopped a 19-year-old in Piazzale Marconi by Reggio Emilia’s historic station on 11 November 2026. Officers seized about 20 grams of hashish plus cocaine, a phone and 65 euros, and arrested him for suspected possession for dealing.
Police stopped a car carrying five men in via di Grotta di Gregna, in the Colli Aniene area of eastern Rome, and found ten blocks of hashish weighing about one kilogram in two shopping bags. All five were arrested for possession for dealing, and 7,110 euros in cash was seized.
State Police arrested a 48-year-old Italian man in Sesto San Giovanni after finding about 2 kg of hashish in a shopping bag near his home. A search found 50 grams of marijuana and cash; a Monza court validated the arrest and ordered him to report to the judicial police.
