Albanian with Ecuadorian documents murdered in Colombia, killer arrested

Another assassination attempt carried out by hired killers occurred on Sunday afternoon in Medellín, Colombia.

The incident was recorded on a street near the Santa Fe shopping center, in the El Poblado neighborhood, Municipality 14.

The city's Security Secretary, Manuel Villa Mejía, announced that the victim was a man with Ecuadorian identity documents, but of Albanian nationality.

A woman accompanying the victim was also injured during the attack. According to preliminary reports, the victim has been identified as Artur Tuçi, 44, born in Albania, but with an Ecuadorian identity document.

He added that the suspected perpetrator, who was traveling on a motorcycle, was arrested in the municipality of Bello, in the north of the Aburrá Valley. The motorcycle and the weapon used in the murder were seized by police.

"The motives and details of the event are still being verified as part of the investigations being conducted by the authorities," Villa Mejía said.

Investigations by the InSight Crime organization have highlighted that Albanian networks play a key role in international drug trafficking in Latin America, using Ecuador as a strategic base for their transatlantic operations.

Colombian media write that these Balkan criminal groups, often known as the "Albanian mafia", operate in a decentralized manner.

"Networks like the Bello Company have sent emissaries to South America to negotiate directly with cocaine producers — such as FARC dissidents or the Urabeños groups in Colombia — to secure the lowest wholesale prices," Colombian media say.

These networks also use front companies to launder money, mainly through export and import businesses, especially in the strategic port of Guayaquil, Ecuador.Indeksonline/