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Trafficking large amounts of cocaine, Albanian gang in Belgium busted! Gert 'The General' arrested

2026-09-15 10:39:00 / AKTUALITET ALFA PRESS

Trafficking large amounts of cocaine, Albanian gang in Belgium busted! Gert

An Albanian drug gang has been dismantled by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police. A “criminal broker” from Antwerp was the intermediary between the groups in Albania and Latin America. He was also in contact with an Albanian suspected of murder in Italy, “The General”. Eight suspects have been arrested, of whom four are being held in custody.

By Patrick Lefelon, PZC

The investigation began almost a year ago, when the police received information that a large amount of cocaine was suspected to be stored in an apartment in Antwerp. During further investigations, a 48-year-old resident of the apartment came into focus. He is suspected of being a middleman who had contacts with groups from Albania and Latin America for the import of cocaine, among others through the port of Antwerp, as well as with smuggling groups from Europe and even Australia.

Spokesperson Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office said: "It is suspected that the 40-year-old coordinated the various groups involved in the delivery, extraction and distribution of drugs. He is suspected of offering various ways to traffic drugs, could have sought help, for example, from security officers and directed the people who extracted the drugs."

The investigation also uncovered several drug smuggling teams. Earlier this year, police were able to seize two cocaine shipments weighing 46 and 53 kilograms.

Suspected of murder

In June, it was revealed that the main suspect had contacts with a 52-year-old Albanian man who was wanted internationally for a murder committed in Italy in 1997. The Federal Police's Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) was able to arrest the man. The process of his extradition to Italy is still ongoing.

It is about the notorious Albanian Gert Gjenerali, known by the nickname "The General". In 1997 he shot and killed a rival in a hospital in Milan, with a pistol that was hidden among a bouquet of flowers. Almost thirty years later, the now 52-year-old has been arrested again, this time in Antwerp.

On Wednesday, searches were carried out at several apartments in Antwerp, Berchem, Deurne, Kapellen, Brussels, Evere, Sint-Agatha-Berchem and Sint-Joost-ten-Node. Eight people were arrested, including the so-called broker, or intermediary, but also people with whom he is suspected of working closely.

During the searches, the police found, among other things, several firearms and ammunition in hidden spaces, bulletproof vests, signal jammers, cash, a money counting machine, forged passports and press cards, presses and molds for producing cocaine blocks.

The investigating judge then brought six suspects before the court. Of these, four people were arrested, one person was released on bail and one person was released unconditionally. The judicial investigation by the Antwerp Federal Judicial Police, under the direction of the investigating judge, continues.

The investigation involved close cooperation with other countries and Europol. This could lead to arrests abroad. As a result of the intervention, a shipment of 37 kilograms of cocaine, hidden in a refrigerated container, has already been seized in Albania.

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