"Albanian and Turkish gangs strengthen alliance to terrorize London"

The British media 'The Sun' has dedicated an article to Turkish and Albanian gangs operating in London.

'Two men wearing hoods have posted a video on social networks where they are seen in front of a super luxury car', so begins the article of 'The Sun' which describes the video.

The Sun article

"Two men in hoodies sit in front of a £160,000 supercar, posing for a rap video to be posted on TikTok. They warn "not to argue with" Turks or Albanians before driving off in their red Audi R8 Spyder."

Another video on the social media platform shows another gang wearing hoodies dancing around what appears to be a stash of cocaine worth £80,000 a kilo.

This is the frightening arrogance born of a developing alliance between Turkish and Albanian gangs.

Members of the Albanian criminal gang Hellbanianz, in East London, are already known for flaunting their lavish lifestyles and weaponry on social media, and now Turkish gangs are following suit.

Albanians are not only fueling the UK's drug problems, but many are behind people-smuggling operations in France.

In August, three Albanians and a Briton were sentenced to 19 years for organizing "dangerous" trips in small boats.

Jetmir Myrtaj, 35, Banet Tershana, 52, Klodian Shenaj, 49, and British national Desmond Rice, 47, from Aylesbury, Bucks, were arrested in Belgium between October last year and March.

At one point they tried to ferry 12 migrants, including a woman and child, to a small boat in Belgium where six of them did not have life jackets.

The number of arrivals from Albania has dropped dramatically over the past year, as a result of a withdrawal agreement signed with the Albanian government by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

It is considered a significant obstacle, but a large number of Albanian men remain in Great Britain, creating major problems for the authorities.

More than 12,000 Albanians left for Britain on small boats last year, representing one per cent of the Balkan country's working age population.

Those who arrived were sent to hotels while their asylum claims were processed, but a quarter are said to have fled within days.

Now the UK is seeing an increase in Turkish migrants who, this year, accounted for one in nine people making the perilous journey across the English Channel.

Albanian criminals have made no pretense of hiding their lavish lifestyles as they wreak havoc selling drugs across Britain.

A source told The Sun: “Turkey's big drug dealers have historically relied heavily on Albanians of Turkish origin to distribute their drugs to Europe.

"The nations share long cultural and historical ties, so it was only a matter of time before they found each other in Britain."

In a further sign of growing cooperation between gangsters from the two countries, a fugitive Albanian drug lord who flooded the UK with cocaine was arrested in Istanbul.

Dritan Rexhepi, in his early 40s, was once on Scotland Yard's most wanted list because of his connections to England.

He was arrested last month following an Interpol notice issued by Italian and Albanian judicial authorities for "murder, drugs, kidnapping/deprivation of liberty, forgery of travel documents, weapons and ammunition".

Rexhepi is said to have been the leader of an international drug cartel called Kompania Bello, which transports drugs from South America to Europe.

In August, Britain announced a deal with Turkey aimed at thwarting smuggling gangs organizing small boat crossings of the Channel.

Former policeman Neil Woods said drug gangs are becoming more violent as Britain is flooded with cheap cocaine.

He explained: One of the changes that the Albanians have brought is the removal of intermediaries and direct confrontation with Latin Americans (cartels). This has made transnational supply routes much more efficient. They have become so efficient that there has been a dramatic increase in the supply of cocaine. There is so much cocaine around that hundreds of kilograms have been seized, but there is no change in supply or cost.

Police arrests constantly create gaps in the drug market, which creates instability and opportunities that are fought over and the most ruthless and violent gangs tend to win.”/