Albanian drug dealers receive contrasting UK court decisions

Dardan Hoxhaj, a 31‑year‑old Albanian previously convicted of a £750,000 drug‑trafficking operation, avoided deportation after a UK immigration court ruled that removal would be "severe" for his wife, who suffers from complex post‑traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. The judge noted Hoxhaj’s "critical and irreplaceable" role in supporting his family, allowing him to remain in Britain despite a prior deportation order from 2018.

In a separate case, 27‑year‑old Albanian Mariglen Llapushi was sentenced by Swansea Crown Court to three years in prison for possession of cocaine with intent to supply, driving while disqualified and using a false identity document. He was arrested after a traffic stop in Aberystwyth uncovered several bags of cocaine and later video evidence of him burying wraps of the drug. The court indicated that Llapushi will likely be deported after serving his sentence.

Both cases illustrate how UK courts are handling Albanian nationals involved in drug trafficking, with outcomes ranging from permission to stay to imprisonment and impending deportation.