Pure cocaine trafficking at all-time high
ALBANIAN DRUG LORDS MUSCLE IN ON IMPORTS
ALBANIAN gangs are flooding the UK with “high-grade” cocaine.
It comes as deaths from the drug hit record levels.
So-called “champagne” powder, which is up to 85% pure, is being smuggled in.
Traffickers in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool have cashed in on a seasonal surge in demand, selling coke at up to £100 a gram.
In 2017, a record 432 cocaine users died – almost four times the number in 2012. But the risks have not dampened demand.
A source close to a Manchester gang known as “the Albanians” told us: “They used to run things in London, but now they run things here, in Liverpool, and all the big cities.
“They have access to the purest stuff and they know how to take over. They have the muscle and they have the firepower.
“The party season offers rich pickings for them because everyone is out and people are willing to pay for high-end cocaine. They don’t want stuff that’s been mixed to death, they want a cleaner, purer hit and want it delivered quickly and reliably.” Another Albanian mob known as the “Hellbanians” operates in Birmingham and on the outskirts of London.
The gang posted photos on Instagram showing wads of cash.
Police have caught a number of dealers but warn they face a huge task in bringing down the Albanians. One gangster who sold high-purity cocaine throughout the UK was jailed for
25 years. Albanian Erald Mema,
33, used couriers to sell coke across the Midlands.
Police who nailed his 19-strong crew found more than 10kg of coke, £560,000 in cash and a
10-tonne hydraulic press. Merseyside Chief Constable Andy Cooke, national spokesman on organised crime, said: “The Albanian impact has affected a number of cities.
“The challenge is even greater with Balkan countries because we don’t necessarily have the links in. It’s harder to infiltrate their communities through covert means.”