"Daily Mail" reveals new methods how "London kids" bring drug money to Albania

The British newspaper "Daily Mail" has dedicated an article to the way Albanians manage to send money earned through criminal means back to their homeland.

Albanian gangs recruit fake tourists to send dirty money to Albania, which they invest to live a luxurious life.

At the end of last year, there were almost 1,100 Albanians in prison, including murderers, rapists and Balkan mafia leaders. Only three were women.

In addition to controlling the drug trade, Albanian gangs terrorizing the UK are also convicted of murder, sex crimes, money laundering and human trafficking, according to Daily Mail.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned for years about the "high demand" posed by Albanian gangs, known for their professionalism and discipline, as well as their brutal tactics to keep competition at bay.

Albanian gangs have managed to dominate the drug market in Britain, negotiating directly with Colombian cartels and undermining rivals to fill Britain's streets with cheap cocaine.

The flow of money returning to Albania is a growing concern for the NCA. Its fears have grown so much that last year, the agency signed an agreement with SPAK that will investigate the assets of convicted Albanians in the United Kingdom.

In 2010, just 1.5 per cent of foreign nationals imprisoned in England and Wales were Albanian. But by the end of 2024, Albanians made up 10.6 per cent, more than any other nation.

The increase in the number of Albanians is partly due to the large number crossing the Channel, with a total of 12,685 going to Britain by small boats in 2022.

However, this figure has fallen since ministers signed an agreement on the transfer of prisoners with the Albanian government in 2022.

Under the leadership of Rishi Sunak, 200 people were deported in exchange for £8 million to modernise the prison system.

The Labour Party has promised to deport foreign criminals faster, saying it "cannot be fair" for taxpayers to pay for it.

It is thought to cost around £40,000 a year to house each prisoner, suggesting the UK spends £44 million keeping Albanian criminals in prison.

As crime groups try to move their money home, they are also known for hiding money in vans traveling between the two countries.

A source from the Albanian community in Britain said that the large number of vans and trucks passing through Dover every day makes it easy for criminals to transport money hidden among the goods.
In one case in 2021, police seized £123,000 hidden in a van transporting goods from Britain.
Olsi Sefolli was arrested in Albania after 10 packages were found hidden inside a white Mercedes van.

He was charged with money laundering related to criminal activities and failing to declare money at the border crossing. Police also found weapons hidden in the van.

According to Albanian police, the van belonged to a Luton-based company owned by Guxim Sefollin.

He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 9 months for the charge of failing to declare money.

Guxim Sefolli told the court that he had migrated to Britain in 2010 and had worked for seven years on the black market, as he was an illegal migrant without documents to stay in Britain.

He had planned to invest the money in an apartment in the city of Vlora, in southern Albania.

He admitted to hiding the money in the van, saying his cousin Olsi was unaware of the money. There are more than 30 companies registered in Britain that transport items such as clothes and furniture to Albania.

A source from the Albanian community in Britain said that it is known that some of these companies trafficked money abroad.

In another case at the port of Bari, Italy, police discovered £225,000 hidden in the roof of a van.

The Ansa News Agency reported that the money was sealed in vacuum bags and the driver was going to travel to Albania.

Customs staff in Bari said that cars with British plates and Albanian drivers are often stopped at the port, adding that such trips are made “week after week.” Another way gangs use to smuggle money out of Britain is by hiring couriers to pose as tourists.

Couriers are given money to make the journey and bundles of cash amounting to up to £20,000 to take with them to Albania.

In 2018, Suzanna Sokolli and Xhino Mata, a mother and son from Albania, were caught in Dover with £40,000 hidden. They were sentenced to prison at the Crown Court for more than three years. /tch/