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EXCLUSIVE: Romanian 'convicted gangster' running fight club for kids after second bid to extradite him fails on human rights grounds
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
A CAGE fighter convicted of the attempted murders of two men in Romania has avoided a second bid to extradite him after a British judge said forcing him back home to serve the sentence would breach his human rights.
Convicted gangster Adrian Preda, 44, (both above) is wanted in Romania to serve jail terms for a series of violent offences and belonging to a notorious crime gang.
But, he has been allowed to remain in the country after a judge said extradition would breach his right to a private and family life because his wife and children may be forced to also return home.
It means Preda, who once fought toxic influencer Andrew Tate's brother Tristan in a brutal cage bout, is free to continue teaching mixed martial arts to children and adults at the "Preda Fight Club" gym he runs in north west London.
Videos posted on TikTok show the 44-year-old, who was a member of the Sportivii crime gang in Bucharest, putting several children through their paces at the gym in an industrial unit in Kingsbury.
Former Tory MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton raised concerns about the previous refusal to extradite Preda when he was on the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2018.
He spoke of his shock at the latest ruling.
He said: "It is cases like this that lead people to ask what planet some of our judges are on. This is a serious criminal legitimately convicted of dangerous crimes in a European democracy and ally. There is no way he should continue to be free to roam the streets in the UK in defiance of due legal process from Romanian law enforcement agencies. "Inconvenience and upheaval to family members should in no way be seen as a stay out of jail card and we should hand him over to the Romanian authorities as a matter of urgency. If his family chooses to go with him is a matter for them and not for a British judge to regard as a veto on justice."
And, Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “It is a disgrace that because of the ECHR, we cannot deport a dangerous foreign national offender wanted for a series of violent offences and belonging to a criminal gang in Romania. This man should not be in our country.
“The next Conservative Government will leave the ECHR and ECAT and establish our removals force to increase the number of deportations to 150,000 a year through our BORDERS plan. We will deport every single foreign national offender and illegal immigrant, but Keir Starmer does not have the backbone to do this.”
Romanian news reports say the wider gang has been involved in trafficking £2 million worth of heroin, stealing machine guns and pistols from a Romanian army base, and opening fire on rivals in the streets.
In February 2016, Preda and 28 fellow gang members were convicted in a court in Bucharest to a combined 220 years for various offences.
Preda received a nine-year sentence after being convicted of a number of offences, including the attempted murders, with three other men, of two rival gang members who were attacked with knives and blunt objects in the Mall Plaza Shopping Centre on July 6 2008, leaving them with life-threatening injuries.
He was also convicted of attacking and injuring two police officers with objects during a brawl at a Bucharest nightclub on January 6 the same year.
Other offences related to threats and blackmail in May 2013 against man to whom he had given a high-interest loan and of belonging to the crime gang said by Romanian prosecutors to have been formed to commit serious crimes.
Preda was released on bail to appeal the convictions, but instead fled to London.
In 2017 the Romanian Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to five years and six months, which has yet to be served.
Romania issued a European Arrest Warrant, leading to his detention, but in April 2018 District Judge Robin McPhee, sitting at Westminster Magistrates' Court discharged his extradition saying he was "free to go" because "overcrowded jails" in his homeland might breach his human rights due to potentially "degrading’ treatment".
He also allowed Preda to charge taxpayers £56 for parking fees for his £60,000 BMW left outside court.
The ruling meant Preda was free to remain in the UK and went on to set up a number of business interests, including the gym.
Companies House records show he has been behind a series of other limited companies involved in construction, car sales and repair and chauffeuring since his 2018 release.
Romania issued a new arrest warrant in 2024 and he was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) extradition unit last year before fresh extradition proceedings began at the same court.
Preda claims he was prosecuted because of corruption and insists he lives a crime-free life in the UK.
District Judge Kevin Grego, who heard the case, said Romania has now given an assurance over any prison conditions Preda would be held in, meaning this could no longer prevent his extradition.
But, he also threw out claims from Preda's legal team that the prosecution against him was tainted by corruption.
However, Preda argued extradition would place a burden on his wife Raluca Preda and their three children aged 12, nine and eight.
However, it was told that should Preda be extradited, his wife would be forced to return with the family to Romania as they would no longer be able to afford to live in their three-bedroom home in Edgware.
Judge Grego wrote in his judgement: "She feels there is no option other than her returning to Romania with the children if he is extradited. She said she will not be able to maintain their home here and the children would not be able to travel back and forth to visit their father who up to now has been ever-present and hands on as a parent.
Dr Sharon Pettle, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, said a return to Romania would impact the children, particularly his nine-year-old son, who has emotional dysregulation and difficulties with concentration and attention.
Dr Pettle told the court: "Mr and Mrs Preda have created a settled life for their children where there are predictable routines, clear boundaries and expectations for behaviour. They present as a happily rooted family and have lived in the same house for the last seven years. The children are well connected to the school community.
"Alongside the significant loss of a primary caregiver, the children face a sudden and complete shift in their daily lives and routine. A move to Romania would be a massive upheaval."
Judge Grego said he had to weigh this against the "seriousness of the offending".
He wrote: "In my judgement the matters raised by the requested person, not least the impact on his son, mean that the consequential interference with family life will be exceptionally severe.
"Extradition in this case would not be compatible with the Convention rights of the requested person or his immediate family members. In coming to that conclusion, I must order Mr Preda’s discharge from these proceedings."
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: "A criminal, wanted in his native land - an EU member state - is set free by our courts because of rights conferred by the ECHR. The logical inference from the judge’s decision is that any criminal, however egregious the offence, must be spared jail if it might affect family members. The sooner we withdraw from the ECHR, the better.”
A CPS spokesperson said Romania was appealing the outcome to the Court of Appeal.
Preda was contacted through his gym for comment.
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