HAMBURG, Germany — Notorious European drug lord Prince Dobroshi, 61, was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Hamburg Regional Court on Wednesday for orchestrating one of the largest cocaine smuggling operations in recent history.
Known in criminal circles as “The Shark,” Dobroshi was found guilty of organizing the shipment of 10 tons of cocaine through the port of Hamburg in 2020. The drugs were smuggled from South and Central America, concealed among shipments of bananas, rice, coal, and gelatin.
Dobroshi’s criminal career spans over three decades, beginning in the 1990s. He was previously arrested in Norway in 1993, escaped prison in 1997, recaptured in Prague in 1999, and released in 2005.
During the recent trial, evidence showed that Dobroshi masterminded the logistics of the operation, including coordinating the transport of cocaine containers from Colombia, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. At the Hamburg port, containers were opened, drugs removed, and then resealed with forged seals. It is suspected that some port workers were complicit in the operation.
Key to Dobroshi’s capture was the decryption of messages from the encrypted cryptocurrency app EncroChat. He was arrested in Albania in late 2023 and extradited to Germany in 2024.
After initially remaining silent, Dobroshi confessed, which shortened the trial by 42 days and served as a mitigating factor in sentencing. However, the vast amount of drugs and his central role in the criminal network resulted in a severe prison term.
In addition to imprisonment, authorities will confiscate €8.2 million in damages from Dobroshi. Already seized in 2020 were €2.5 million in cash, with ongoing efforts to recover the remaining amount.
