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The virtual universe of computer games is a wonder of technology and entertainment, but one that is haunted by a shadow economy of illicit trade hanging over it, imperiling the very fabric of economic and social ordering.

On 20th and 21th of March 2025 in Tirana, on faculty of economy, University of Tirana was held Workshop entitled “Data-science based solutions to illicit trade practices”. The workshop was organized within the framework of Workgroup 4 of GLITTS team. The host of the event was prof. Besa Shahini who is an expert in trade and economic policy.

Illicit trade poses challenges for social stability and prosperity. It produces dire consequences which weaken economic stability, empower criminal enterprises, and target vulnerable groups. The proliferation of counterfeit goods, human trafficking, illegal arms transactions, corruption, and environmental crimes are closely connected and together they create fertile conditions for organised crime groups.

What are the boundaries of the field when we think organized crime and its interrelation with civil society? Where does organized crime begin and where does it end? If mafias are about controllo di territorio, would not a return to land as a symbol, as a ballast, as a map offering mafiosi a performative lexicon give us a good sense of where we should be focusing?  In my work I suggest two things in this regard: first, thinking with land is not anachronistic, but productive, as a metaphor for the sociological field, when it comes to analyzing organized crime. Second, with territory and map come boundaries – and thinking beyond strict lines of enmity between antimafia and mafia is equally productive, not least analytically.