Brothers accused of 'supplying Albanian crime gangs with guns' brought deadly blood fued to London

TWO brothers alleged to be at the heart of a plot to supply Albanian crime gangs in the UK with deadly firearms brought a deadly "blood feud" with them when they fled to London, a court heard today.

Albanians Alban Gjidaj, 29, and older brother Almir Gjidaj, 34, (above middle) were senior members of an organised crime group involved in smuggling guns hidden in standard deliveries from Albania to the UK, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

Albania is seeking the extradition of Alban Gjidaj from the UK to stand trial for conspiring to traffic weapons and ammunition into the UK. 

The court heard he only made an asylum claim in October 2023 after he was stopped by police and it was rejected.

He denies the offences and stressed his life could be in danger if he is forced to return to Albania, due to the ongoing violent feud.

He was arrested on an international arrest warrant from Albania in January this year by the Met Police before being granted bail after offering a £5,000 surety.

Opening the case for Albania, David Ball said:  "The Requested Person 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, 34, is currently in custody after he was arrested there just days before his younger brother was held in the UK in January this year.

It was also in connection with the Albanian firearms probe.

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

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

Malcolm Hawkes, representing Gjidiaj, told District Judge Daniel Sternberg the alleged blood feud dated back to a debt his late father had incurred while borrowing money for cancer treatment.

He said: "The requested person's father was ill and borrowed £25,000 for urgent cancer treatment." 

"He died, so under blood feuds that debt is owed by the eldest brother – he was shot, and an explosion happened at his apartment in Tirana in October 2011.

"His whereabouts were not known, so it is said the blood feud passes to a younger brother – the requested person."

Mr Ball told the court Gjidiaj was one of six people – including his older brother, Almir – who is wanted in Albania over the alleged gun smuggling plot.

He said: "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 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.

Four other co-defendants are wanted for trial, including Adulla Hoxhaj, said to be the gang's leader.

The court heard that Alban was present when the previous firearms orders were collected in Luton. 

When the latest delivery was stopped and searched, he allegedly made threatening phone calls to another co-defendant who was allegedly involved in the transportation of the table, saying he would kill him if he identified Hoxhaj's role.

Giving evidence, Alban denied making the call, which the court heard was made on a French mobile phone number, and said he was in Watford on the day in question and provided evidence of paying cash into a bank that day.

He said he fled Albania to the UK after being followed by unknown people four or five times while at university who he feared were targeting him.

Gjidiaj, speaking through an Albanian interpreter, denied importing weapons or making a threatening phone call.

The court heard he had left Albania and arrived illegally in the UK in 2018, travelling via Belgium.

He made an application for asylum five years later, in October 2023, but this was refused. He is later granted a family visa due to having a wife and 15-year-old son.

Gjidiaj told the court he had come to the UK in fear of his life and was now scared of being killed if he returned to Albania.

During cross-examination, Mr Ball asked him if he had received any threats between the explosion at his brother's apartment in 2011 and 2018 when he left for the UK.

Gjidiaj said he had been followed "around four or five times" over four years while at university in Tirana.

He said he never reported the incidents to the police because he did not trust them.

Gjidiaj told the court he left Albania in October 2018 and arrived in the UK at the beginning of November, travelling through Belgium.

The suspect said he fled to the UK because he 'feared for his life'.

Mr Ball asked why he had chosen to live in the UK illegally and only claimed asylum in October 2023 when he was stopped by police.

Gjidiaj replied that he was worried he was going to be deported.

The suspect told the court he had not been threatened in the UK aside from seeing men arrive at his flat at night on several occasions.

Suspicious men of Albanian descent had been seen on a number of occasions on a Ring doorbell camera and trying to access his home, the court heard. 

Mr Ball suggested apart from fearing he was followed and the strange visitations, nothing of note had actually happened.

He asked him: "This is just another exaggeration isn't it? This is you saying this to your solicitor exaggerating your case isn't it?"

Alban's wife Layla Abdi, who is due to give birth to their second child in February, gave evidence and said there were incidents with strange visitors to the address on December 29 last year then January 2 and January 4th, which were reported to police, who did not respond to her after she chased the investigation in February.

Professor Dimitris Dalakoglou, an expert on Albanian blood feuds, said: "It is possible these incidents are related with an ongoing blood feud.

"You have to locate someone if you want to shoot them, looking at access, and opportunities to do it, having the right circumstances."

The court heard his sister had also made an asylum application, after claiming she was attacked by people targeting the older brother, but that she had since returned to Albania and faced no more threats.

The hearing continues.