Two of them were Kosovar brothers Adem and Avni Igrhista, who in 1995 began a shipping business with the cover of importing nuts and cotton T-shirts from Turkey. This case showed us that the Albanians were becoming stronger. Before, it was the Albanians who were the runners. Authorities say Gashi controlled Milan's most powerful Albanian gang and stayed connected to Ekrem Gashi, another relative of the Gashi clan in Kosovo. Ekrem, who ran drugs throughout the Balkans, was murdered two weeks ago when several men brandishing Kalashnikovs sprayed his Mercedes with bullets in front of a Pristina cafe.
Police say the murder was ordered by a rival clan.
The cache would move west to the capitals of Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary. Much of the heroin fell under the domain of the Ndrangheta and other Italian gangs. Cooperation between small Albanian gangs and the powerful Italian Mafia has run smoothly, but some investigators say the Albanians' penchant for control may upset things. It shows a hierarchy is developing among the immigrants. The Albanians have been fighting among themselves over the last two years for larger shares of the drug and prostitution markets.