Albanian Prosecutors Seek Arrest of 20 in Drug and Money-Laundering Probe

Albanian prosecutors from the special prosecutor's office against corruption and organised crime demanded the arrest of 20 people on 13 June 2026 in connection with an international cocaine-trafficking investigation that uncovered suspected money-laundering operations. " Only four of the 20 people had been arrested as of that date. S.

5 million). Part of the suspect investments involves properties and construction projects in Tirana, Palase, Himare, and other coastal areas. ', which public documents from the Albanian commercial registry show purchased large plots of land in Zvernec.

Those plots appear to match land described in a tourism project referenced by Ivanka Trump in a recent podcast. "We have five miles (eight kilometres) of beachfront directly across from the (Sazan) island, this beautiful peninsula with a lagoon on one side, the ocean on the other, beautiful white sand beaches," she said. SPAK did not mention the Zvernec project in its statement.

Contacted by AFP on the afternoon of 13 June 2026, the office did not reply. Opposition to the planned luxury resort in the protected coastal zone of Zvernec and on the uninhabited island of Sazan has prompted daily protests in Tirana for the past two weeks. Protesters have called for the project to be halted and for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital every evening during that period, including on 13 June 2026.