Date: May 16, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
DETROIT — After a trial that took parts of twelve weeks in federal court, a federal jury convicted Ylli Didani, an Albanian national, of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced today.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Lawton, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division; Marty Raybon, Director of Fields Operation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Chief John Piggott, Farmington Hills Police Department.
Evidence at trial proved Didani was a leader of an international drug trafficking organization with ties to the United States, South America, and Europe. Didani and other unindicted co-conspirators planned and financed the distribution of cocaine from several locations including the Eastern District of Michigan. Didani arranged the distribution of enormous shipments of cocaine from South America to Europe, where the cocaine was seized by law enforcement. As a result of this investigation, in 2019 and 2020, law enforcement seized over 3400 kilograms of cocaine Didani’s organization loaded onto five different freighters that were bound for international ports. The seized cocaine has a street value of over $100,000,000.00.
The evidence at trial proved Didani and other members of his organization planned the design of an underwater drone that would be utilized to transport large quantities of cocaine to Europe. The drone, which was going to be equipped with an underwater modem and GPS antenna, would transport the cocaine while attached to the bottom of a commercial containership. The drone would then be remotely released from the containership off the shore of Europe. The drone and cocaine would then be picked up by a fishing boat controlled by Didani’s organization. Didani faces up to life in prison as a result of today’s convictions.
The case was investigated by the DEA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Group 6 consisting of both DEA Special Agents and Task Force Officers from IRS-CI, Farmington Hills PD, Sterling Heights PD, Troy PD, Novi PD, Dearborn Heights PD, and Northfield Township PD, and US Customs and Border Protection.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.