TIRANA, Albania – Colombian national Sammir Rosales Rodriguez, identified by Albanian prosecutors as the "chemist" behind a major international cocaine trafficking operation, has been extradited from Colombia to Albania to serve a 14-year prison sentence, according to local media.
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| Colombian national Sammir Rosales Rodriguez, identified as the "chemist" in a major international cocaine trafficking ring, has been extradited to Albania to serve a 14-year prison sentence. |
On June 30, 2026, Albania's Special Court sentenced Rodriguez to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of drug trafficking and participation in a structured criminal group.
According to SPAK, Rodriguez played a key role in the trafficking of approximately 485 kilograms of Colombian cocaine, which had been dissolved in artificial organic fertilizer to evade detection.
The shipment originated from the Port of Buenaventura in Colombia, passed through the Port of Piraeus in Greece and the Port of Bar in Montenegro before being transported by road to Frakullë e Madhe, near Fier, Albania.
Investigators said Rodriguez traveled alongside the shipment from Colombia through Greece, Montenegro, and Albania, strengthening suspicions that he personally supervised the delivery.
SPAK also revealed that two weeks before an arrest warrant was issued, Albanian police stopped a vehicle in which Rodriguez was traveling using his genuine Colombian passport. Authorities deliberately chose not to arrest him at that moment to avoid compromising the wider investigation. By the time the warrant was issued, however, he had already disappeared.
Ten Albanian co-defendants linked to the same criminal organization have already been convicted in separate proceedings before Albania's Special Court, receiving prison sentences ranging from 8 to 11 years.
The extradition marks another significant step in Albania's efforts to dismantle international drug trafficking networks operating between Latin America and the Balkans.