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By Chris Matthews
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Albanian organized crime groups are making inroads into the American drug trade, according to a former undercover narcotics officer who warned that the gangs could expand their influence over the country's cocaine market.
Neil Woods, who spent 14 years infiltrating drug gangs in the U.K., told Newsweek that Albanian criminals had also made "strong inroads" in the U.S.
He drew comparisons with the rise of Albanian gangs in Britain, where they have become major players in the cocaine trade, and pointed to falling cocaine prices and increasing purity as signs of a changing market.
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Woods, an expert on the global cocaine trade, said: "Their strong inroads are essentially transglobal, which includes the U.S. Price is down and purity is up in the U.S. like everywhere. Why? Because of the efficiency created by this transnational cooperation."
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The international reach of Albanian organized crime has also come under scrutiny in connection with a controversial luxury resort development that has helped trigger violent protests in Albania.
Woods' warning came ahead of the release today of the Sky News documentary The Drug Lords Next Door, which reveals how Albanian drug networks have developed sophisticated international supply chains, recruited street-level dealers through social media and built lucrative cocaine delivery businesses.
The documentary follows undercover journalists who infiltrated Albanian gangs in Britain, exposing how dealers are recruited and how customer databases are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Albanian Drug Networks in America
Albanian organized crime groups are not new to the United States. In 2013, federal prosecutors in New York announced that 49 members and associates of an international Albanian crime syndicate had been convicted of drug trafficking offenses.
The network operated across three continents and distributed drugs in several U.S. states, including New York, California, Georgia, Colorado and Florida.
According to the Justice Department, its members trafficked cocaine obtained from Mexico and South America, alongside marijuana, ecstasy and prescription drugs.
The State Department has also identified Albanian-led criminal networks operating in the U.S., Europe, the United Arab Emirates and South America.
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Speaking to Newsweek, Woods added: "The important link that brings the Americas into the discussion is between Albanian and Brazilian organized crime.
"Most processing and logistics are via Brazil now, and from there the U.S. is just one destination amongst the rest. The market has only grown."
The Drug Enforcement Administration's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment found that the average purity of cocaine samples analyzed at the wholesale level increased from 86 percent in 2023 to 88 percent in 2024.
That finding is consistent with Woods' observation that cocaine purity has been rising.
How the Gangs Built Their Networks
The warning follows a year-long Sky News investigation into how Albanian criminal networks operate in Britain, where authorities have identified them as a major force in cocaine trafficking.
Undercover journalists discovered hundreds of TikTok advertisements offering drug-dealing jobs in towns and cities across the country.
Going undercover, journalists applied for the positions and were offered jobs selling cocaine, including one paying £280 a day ($373).
"It’s as if it’s a major corporation advertising and recruiting for staff," said former police officer David McKelvey, who helped pioneer undercover operations against Albanian gangs in Britain.
The documentary also reveals how the gangs have revolutionized drug dealing through dedicated cell phones containing customers' contact details.
Sky News found phones being advertised on social media for as much as £300,000 ($400,000) and contacted an Albanian seller undercover.
"The phone is the business. All of your clients are on your phone. You’re effectively buying a business," McKelvey explained.
US Connections and Political Controversy
The international reach of Albanian organized crime has also come under scrutiny in connection with a controversial luxury resort development on the Albanian island of Sazan, backed by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
In July, Reuters reported that Albanian prosecutors were investigating Miami-based businessman Artur Shehu, who sold land connected to the resort project.
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Investigators suspect Shehu of laundering money for drug trafficking networks and falsifying property documents.
Shehu has denied the allegations through his lawyer.
Prosecutors are understood to be examining whether land deeds were forged before the property was sold for the proposed development.
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The investigation has added to the controversy surrounding the resort, which has sparked demonstrations in Albania over environmental concerns and allegations of corruption.
Reuters found no evidence that Kushner or other investors knew of the allegations against Shehu when the land was purchased. The resort's developers have maintained that the acquisitions were lawful.
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A Growing Concern
American authorities have previously dismantled Albanian criminal networks operating across multiple states, while European investigators have documented the groups' increasing influence over international cocaine supply chains.
Woods' warning raises questions about whether networks that expanded rapidly in Europe could strengthen their position in the U.S.
The Sky News investigation provides a picture of how the networks recruit dealers, distribute drugs and build their businesses overseas.
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And if Albanian gangs establish the same foothold in the U.S. as they have in other countries, the consequences could extend far beyond the drug trade.
Speaking about the human consequences of a booming cocaine market, Kathryn Westmore, director of financial crime at UK Finance, said: "This is not a victimless crime, somebody buying cocaine for their night out.
"There’s a whole history in that one transaction which takes you back to exploited people, vulnerable people, violence. This is all part of the same ecosystem, and it touches all of our lives."
The Drug Lords Next Door will be available on Sky News and Sky Documentaries from November 13 at 4 p.m. EST. It was commissioned by Sky’s in-house documentary unit Full Story Films and made with Quicksilver Media.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Dan Orton and Tony Phillips.
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