Alleged Albanian firearms trafficker Alban Gjidiaj got leave to remain after having child - his convicted drug supplier brother dodged deportation on human rights grounds

AN Albanian alleged firearms trafficker was allowed to remain in the UK by the Home Office because he fathered a child just over nine months after being found here illegally, it can be revealed.

His older brother, who had earlier entered the UK illegally, was also given asylum and later avoided deportation on "human rights grounds after he was jailed for drug supply, it has emerged.

Brothers, Alban Gjidiaj, 29, and Almir Gjidiaj, 34, (above after his arrest in Colombia) are wanted by Albanian prosecutors over an alleged plot to smuggle eight guns and a stash of bullets (pictures below) from Albania to sell to UK-based crime gangs.

Details of their immigration history was revealed in the judgement of the younger sibling's extradition battle after District Judge Michael Sternberg ruled he should be sent to Albania to face trial, despite the impact it will have on his family.

But, he will only be sent there if Judge Sternberg's ruling is ratified by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

In considering whether to rubber stamp his extradition, Ms Mahmood is likely to take into account his "leave to remain" immigration status, earlier granted by the Home Office.

She will also have to consider the fact that his wife gave birth to a second child, a girl, after the extradition hearing on January 18 this year, although Gjidiaj has not been named on the birth certificate.

In the meantime, he remains free on the streets after conditional bail for him to live and sleep at a flat in Cockfosters, north London, under an electronically-monitored curfew from 11pm to 7am, was extended by Judge Sternberg sitting at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Gjidiaj was initially bailed last year after a £5,000 surety was paid to the court.

During the extradition hearing in December, Barrister Malcolm Hawkes, representing Gjidiaj, argued he could be killed if forced to return to Albania, due to a long running "blood feud" dating back to over 17 years after the pair's father died owing £25,000 that he borrowed for urgent cancer treatment.

Mr Hawkes also argued Gjidiaj was unlikely to have a fair trial in Albania, due to corruption claims, and he raised concerns about the country's prison conditions.

Mr Hawkes also argued extradition would breach his human rights due to the impact on his wife and child.

Judge Sternberg rejected these legal challenges and concluded that extraditing Gjidiaj would not breach his human rights due to the public interest in bringing him to trial for such serious alleged offences being "very high".

While acknowledging the "real and stark impact" extradition would have on the family, the Judge said his wife had known his immigration status and the risk of removal and that she would still receive support from relatives and benefits.

Judge Sternberg said in his judgement last week that Gjidiaj was living illegally in the UK from 2018, when he arrived from Albania via Belgium.

He met Layla Abdi, a British citizen with Somali parents, in 2020 and Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that the couple married in October 2022, without Gjidiaj coming to the attention of the authorities.

It wasn't until a year later, in October 2023, that he was discovered as an illegal immigrant after a car accident and arrested by police.

It was only then that he made an asylum claim, amid claims he was at risk of murder in Albania due to the blood feud and was interviewed by Home Office officials for the first time that month.

Nine months later, during the asylum process, his wife gave birth to their first child, a son, in July 2024.

Gjidiaj was interviewed again as part of the asylum process in October 2024 after the birth.

Judge Sternberg wrote that he had seen "a letter dated 6 December 2024 from the Home Office to (Gjidiaj) refusing his application for asylum but granting him leave to remain in the UK as a parent of a British citizen."

He added: "I accept that the requested person has ties to the United Kingdom through his wife and his family. He lived here clandestinely and without status from 2018 to 2023.

"In 2023 he was involved in a road traffic accident. The police were called and he was arrested for being in the country illegally. He was in immigration detention for approximately two weeks. He claimed asylum and was interviewed in October 2023 and October 2024. He says that during his asylum interviews he was told one of the people who had been threatening to kill his brother

had died. His application for asylum was refused but he was granted leave to remain in the UK on the basis of his family life... he was granted leave to remain until June 2027."

The temporary leave to remain system has caused controversy as after the first five years they can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) which gives access to benefits.

In September reform UK leader Nigel Farage vowed to scrap ILR and its access to benefits if voted into government at the next General Election.

Gjidiaj's leave to remain was granted just weeks before his arrest on an international arrest warrant on January 29 last year.

Albanian prosecutors claim the brothers led the UK arm of a crime group shipping the firearms into Britain via standard deliveries.

At the December hearing David Ball, representing Albania, said the brothers were among six people wanted in Albania over the alleged gun smuggling plot.

They each face up to ten to 20 year terms if convicted of firearms trafficking and commission of such offences within an organised crime group brings a further up to five-year sentence.

Speaking through an Albanian interpreter, Alban denied any involvement in importing weapons or making a threatening phone call.

Mr Ball said:  "(Alban Gjidiaj) is wanted to stand trial for conspiring to traffic weapons and ammunition into the UK.

"He and his elder brother were due to receive a delivery of a wooden table from Albania. The authorities found eight firearms and some ammunition hidden inside the table. Six of the firearms had had their serial numbers removed."

The court heard details of major criminality stemming from Albania to the UK and Colombia, where Almir Gjidaj is currently in custody, also awaiting extradition to Albania, after he was arrested there just days before his younger brother was held in the UK in January this year.

Mr Ball added: "In summary, the requested person is one of six defendants wanted to stand trial – one of whom is the defendant's brother, Almir, who is currently in custody.

"On April 10, 2023, a van was stopped at Durres port, which was ultimately heading to the UK.

"Contained in that van was a wooden table that had a number of hidden compartments and concealed inside them were eight firearms and 201 9mm cartridges.

"The role of the requested person and his brother was that they were the intended recipients of this table. It's alleged there had been two previous shipments in March 2023.

"It's alleged the defendant made a phone call and threatened to kill the man if he identified the leader of the group, who was a long-time friend of the requested person's elder brother."

The court heard that on April 10 2023 a van with British number plates was stopped and searched at a checkpoint in Albania. It was stopped at Dürres sea port, heading to Italy, with the UK as its final destination. The van was carrying a wooden table. Concealed inside the wooden table were eight firearms, four pistol magazines and 201 9mm calibre cartridges.

The driver of the vehicle was initially arrested, but investigations identified that he had no knowledge of the suspicious package and was just a delivery driver.

The court heard Almir Gjidiaj came to the UK after his flat in Tirana was bombed in 2011 and his car was also bombed in London in 2016 when the feud followed him here.

Judge Sternberg's judgement also revealed that Almir Gjidiaj had been granted asylum in the UK on an undisclosed date in relation to the 'blood feud' allegations.

He wrote: 'His brother was previously granted asylum in the UK on the same factual basis, with the Upper Tribunal’s decision finding a real risk to his brother’s life, including two past attempts to kill him.'

Almir was later jailed for three and a half years in the UK on March 30 2017 after he was convicted of class A drug supply, the court heard.

But, he was able to successfully appeal against deportation.

Judge Sternberg added: "The defence served documents pertaining to an immigration judicial review claim brought by the requested person’s sister which included a determination by UTJ Lindsley dated 18 January 2021 in which she allowed (Almir's) appeal against a deportation order made against him on the basis that removal to Albania would place him at a real risk of a breach of his article 3 ECHR rights."

The judgement added that the older brother's asylum status had now lapsed. It is not clear when he left the UK for Colombia.

Ms Mahmood has up to two months to reach her decision, which Gjidiaj could ask the Court of Appeal to overturn, if she backs Judge Sternberg's ruling.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.

"All Foreign National Offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.

“Nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals have been removed or deported from the UK since the 2024 election. We will always seek to deport any foreign national who poses a threat to the UK.”

"Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more."