Dritan Zagani
No party
Legal status
Convicted
convicted
What this means: A court found the person guilty. Check the detail below for whether the verdict is final or under appeal.
Profile
Former police inspector who was detained in Tirana in 2015, fled to Switzerland and was granted asylum. He says 'My country has become a narco-state' and blames Prime Minister Edi Rama for much of the infiltration. FTM reports that he was sentenced in absentia to seven years, and that prosecutors pursued him after police in Fier stopped a car linked to then-Interior Minister Tahiri in October 2013.
Response from Dritan Zagani
Government spokesperson rejected the allegations as political accusations without facts (FTM, Nov 2025).
Related cases
Sorted by reported money, then by linked people and their legal status. The money figure is the largest single reported figure, not a total.
From 2013
Lazarat cannabis economy and the 2014 police raid
Lazarat, a village in southern Albania (Vlora region), became the centre of a cannabis economy in the 2010s. Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza) used aerial photographs to estimate output…
Status: Historic. Cultivation shifted, reduced, and recorded as 'considerably lower' outdoors by 2022 (EUDA). Several local figures remain disputed.
From 2013
Saimir Tahiri: Interior Minister, abuse-of-office conviction
Tahiri was Interior Minister in the period of the Lazarat crackdown. Opposition figures and a former police inspector say he protected a car and drug links. FTM reports that Italian investigators…
Status: Convicted of abuse of office at first instance; appeal reported as pending in one source. Status to be checked on the court record.
A case listed here names this person. It does not mean they are accused in it; read the case page.
Connections
Open the map →Alleges protection (Fier car stop, 2013)
Evidence: FTM: police in Fier stopped a car reportedly belonging to Tahiri; superior barred the search; Zagani later prosecuted.
What they said vs. what the documents show
What was said · 6 Nov 2025
'My country has become a narco-state' (quoted by FTM).
Speaker: Dritan Zagani
Brussels turns blind eye as Albania's drug empire threatens Europe (opens in a new tab)Follow the Money · 6 Nov 2025 · journalism · EN
What the documents show
No court has found that the state as a whole is a narco-state. Court records show the Tahiri conviction for abuse of office only, and a 2025 SPAK clearance of Olsi Rama (per FTM). Zagani's own conviction in absentia is reported.
Timeline
Media
FTM: former police inspector says 'My country has become a narco-state'
Follow the Money published interviews in which former police inspector Dritan Zagani says Albania has become a narco-state and blames Rama for infiltration. The government rejected the allegations as political accusations without facts.
Linked: Saimir Tahiri: Interior Minister, abuse-of-office conviction · Dritan Zagani · Edi Rama
Media
FTM 'The EU Files' on Albanian groups and state links
FTM reports Albanian groups operating in Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Spain; claims of state infiltration (attributed); Operation Tornado (Brescia, Sept 2024; about EUR 375m alleged laundering network); Spain's 13-tonne Algeciras seizure (Nov 2024). Government denied the allegations.
Linked: Saimir Tahiri: Interior Minister, abuse-of-office conviction · Habilaj family cannabis trafficking (Albania to Italy) · Dritan Zagani · Taulant Balla · Olsi Rama · Edi Rama
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 1 source.
Source label: Under investigationUnder investigation · 1 source
- Publisher
- Follow the Money / BLAST
- Date
- 6 Nov 2025