The stolen Mercedes arrive daily on a special car ferry from Italy run by the mafia. Since Albania has no method of disposing of old cars, its roads are littered with wrecks. For a country that did not allow private car ownership until 1990 and then had only 20,000 cars, it is an extraordinary transformation. Officially Albania is a very poor country, but drug trafficking, illegal immigrant networks and prostitution rackets have transformed the economy. Money is pouring in from 700,000 Albanians living and working in Italy, France and Germany.
Money laundering from drugs and prostitution adds to the flood of hard currency.
All over Albania, mansions are being built by people who have no formal job or declared income. Not that this helps the mayor much, because few pay any taxes. Most electricity and water is stolen, and the city has 30,000 illegally built houses. It is hard to believe this is Europe. Edi insists he is an artist, not a politician, but he likes the challenge that is Tirana.