SPAK has struck about a month ago another criminal group, a suspected international network of cocaine trafficking and laundering of the proceeds of crime. "In Target", in News24, journalist Klodiana Lala has provided details from the Special Prosecution's investigation into the group.

THE ROLE OF DRITAN GJIKA
A no less important character in this whole story is Dritan Gjika. Today he is rightly considered one of the biggest drug traffickers in the world. The Albanian from Shkodra, who although he started his career in drug trafficking late, this did not prevent him from becoming one of the most wanted drug traffickers in a few years, with a fortune estimated at 51 million euros. The 49-year-old from Shkodra has remained almost unknown, although it seems surprising how a man over 30 like him managed to move to this age in

Ecuador and from there, within a few years, he became one of the largest drug traffickers in the world, with a fortune of 51 million euros.
The 49-year-old, who had two red notices from Interpol, on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal organization.
Who after a long life, almost 19 years in drug activity was arrested in the United Arab Emirates, thanks to an operation coordinated by the Interpol National Unit in Ecuador, in collaboration with their colleagues in Abu Dhabi and Spain. Dritan Gjika, whose apartment in a luxurious neighborhood on the outskirts of Guayaquil in Ecuador, had been the subject of police checks in February 2024
But despite this, he was not found inside the villa. Where the only people waiting for the police were his wife and young daughter, as well as many firearms.

Meanwhile, the one who was considered a drug lord had escaped. The character who, although he had landed in Ecuador as a temporary visitor, quickly, thanks to his ability, had flooded the world with drugs. Becoming a major concern for a country like Spain, but also for Belgium and the Netherlands.
Where he was sending tons of cocaine. Where in just one night, the Spanish police were able to arrest 31 members of the organization led by Dritan Gjika.
The guy who, in addition to the curated portrait, also wore that of a respected businessman. Where in his warehouses he hid cocaine that came from Colombia and, after being stored in Ecuador, passed on to Europe.

Tons of cocaine that were also found in one of the raids that the Ecuadorian police carried out in one of the storage warehouses of Gjika's syndicate, after the latter had disappeared without a trace almost a year ago. Gjika who is said to have started life as an entrepreneur in 2014. Initially by opening stores. And then slowly creating his drug empire. As well as a large army of people who obeyed and served him, who followed him. Where his residence was always Guayaquil, the most important port city of Ecuador. Where he moved the threads and carried out important operations of international drug trafficking. Ecuador, which would return to his true homeland. Which would not only provide him with money that he had never even dreamed of in another life, but also power. Because with his strength and charisma he managed to corrupt even high-ranking government officials in the political leadership of the South American country.

But also high-ranking police officials, who would turn a blind eye and become bridges through which he would pass unmolested tons of drugs, which originally came from Colombia and were then stationed in the port of the city of Guayaquil, the economic heart of Ecuador. Where they would then take the oceanic route of white milk and poison Europe and other parts of the globe. A fast-rising business career that saw Dritan Gjika, in 2014, just a year after he had obtained Ecuadorian citizenship, initially buy together with another Albanian, a company called Cresmark SA A company that dealt mainly with exports, where he took the role of general director. The same calendar year, where Gjika managed to found, together with his Ecuadorian partner, Ruben Cherres, a construction company. Cherres who had his own personal history of drug trafficking.

Where during a raid by the Ecuadorian police, 108 packages of cocaine were found. But later, due to the connections he had with the brother-in-law of the Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso and some controversial evidence in court in his favor, he was able to come out clean in this story. Cherre's connection with Dritan Gjika and precisely the occult cooperation with the high levels of leadership in Ecuador, which made the Albanian a character not simply powerful, but almost invincible in his decision-making in the world of narcotics. It is somewhat surprising to think how this character who came to Ecuador, without any particular influence, managed to have such an admirable position within a few years. By imposing his irreplaceable dictate on jobs that until now belonged exclusively to local drug cartels. But researchers of the Gjika phenomenon believe that he may be an example of a typical case, the right man at the right time and place.

As may have happened in his case. Taking advantage of the very moment when Front 48, a faction that emerged from the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in eternal war with the Colombian government, even though a peace agreement was reached, the latter refused to surrender their weapons. Thus keeping their territories on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. But in the absence of international buyers of the cocaine they produced in their territories, they connected with Constru. A drug trafficking network that dominated the routes to the Sucumbíos province of Ecuador. Where it is thought that one of the buyers of this cocaine was the Albanian Dritan Gjika himself, who for his part began trading initially with quintals of drugs, and then with tons. Which he hid and exported through the containers of the company he had founded in 2014.

Or others with whom he was already connected and who collaborated closely. But the great demand for drugs, especially in European markets, quickly increased the demand for the name of Dritan Gjika's character, as a reference point in the cocaine market in South America. This was also seen in 2018, when Gjika bought shares in another export company, called 'Agricomtrade'. But although the connection between Dritan Gjika and the other Albanian Salvatore Aliu is somewhat unclear, what connects these two characters is Ecuador. Where they have operated and from there they have both sent tons of cocaine to Europe. The cocaine that made them rich, but also put them in the target of justice. Salvatore Aliu, for whom the place where he lives is still unknown, while for Dritan Gjika there is a request from Ecuador and Spain for extradition, directed to the United Arab Emirates.