3 days ago
Albanian migrant, 20, who came to the UK illegally and sold drugs to send money back home to his disabled father is jailed
An Albanian migrant who came to the UK illegally and sold drugs to send money back home to his disabled father has been jailed for two years.
Rei Hajdaraj, 20, was found by police with twelve snap-bags of cocaine in his car on St Alphonsus Road in Lambeth on 8 June 2025.
He was also discovered to be in possession of a fake Romanian driving licence and £400 in cash from prior drug deals.
The court heard that university-educated Hajdaraj came to England illegally with the intention of finding construction work and sending money home to his disabled father.
But the Albanian soon fell in with an organised criminal network of drug dealers.
He was remanded in custody on 9 June after pleading guilty at Croydon Magistrates Court to dealing and possessing cocaine, and possessing a false identity document.
Wearing a green t-shirt, he was produced at Inner London Crown Court today for sentencing.
Prosecutor Gregor McKinley said: 'The circumstances of all three offences arose in the early hours of 8 June.
'There was body-worn footage from roundabout midnight, just after the early hours, and the defendant was seen in a vehicle which was stopped and searched by police.
'He was asked about his identity and he had with him a Romanian driving licence.
'He maintained that identity with the police, and while the police were talking to him, they noticed other people coming up to the vehicle having made a prior arrangement to purchase cocaine.
'In the door of the vehicle they found twelve snap-bags of cocaine that haven't been weighed but are street-deal size.
'He also had a small tin box, which police say is often used for secretly hiding drugs on the outside of the vehicle.
'They also found £400 in money.'
Jeffrey Shine, defending, said his client was previously a student at the University of Tirana in Albania before dropping out to work in construction.
'He came to England solely for the purpose of trying to earn some money - he did come here illegally in a lorry, he admits that.
'Because of his illegal status I'm afraid what has happened is he got involved with people he shouldn't have got involved with', he said.
Judge David Richards told Hajdaraj: 'On the 8 June you were caught about to deal some drugs on St Alphonsus Road in SW4.
'You had twelve bags of cocaine on you with a device for hiding that cocaine from the police, you had £400 cash on you - the product of similar activity and a false identity document.
'You came into this country illegally - I don't increase your sentence because of that because I'm quite sure you felt and had been told you could work here no matter how you got here.
'You are an educated man, it was your intention perhaps initially to make money here honestly, albeit on the black economy.
'That didn't work out and so you chose to make money through crime.
'You wouldn't have made £400 a day or anything like that - you were making some money at the direction of other men from similar circumstances who were running a criminal enterprise.
'You were used, to an extent, as part of that enterprise.
'These drug-dealing networks only operate if there are people willing to go out on the streets to deal the drugs.
'To an extent, you took advantage of the lack of regulation and oversight in our liberal country.'
Hajdaraj was handed 20 months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine and four months for possession of an false identity document, to run consecutively.
The judge told him the two year sentence was eligible for suspension.
But he added: 'The fact you were illegally, a guest in this country - albeit the authorities didn't know you were here - the fact that this was part of an organised network, albeit playing a small role, I really have no doubt this is too serious to be suspended.'
The 20-year-old will serve 40 per cent of his sentence in prison before he is due for release.
'Whether the Home Office choose to deport you back to Albania after your release is a matter for the Home Office, I do not have any say in that', the judge told him.
'You can go down'.
Hajdaraj, address unknown, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cocaine and possessing a false identity document.
