A gangs expert has claimed drug dealers running the majority of the UK's cocaine market have been warned to stay away from Liverpool.
Migration from Albania has allowed gangs from the country to take over trafficking networks in key cities across Europe, and as a result the National Crime Agency has stated that violent Albanian criminal groups now dominate the criminal world in Britain.
Police sources told the Telegraph that the majority of the record 11 tonnes of cocaine seized in the UK in 2021 is likely to have been sourced by criminal factions from the Balkans, where Albania is located.
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The drug is everywhere in the country, but when it comes to the suppliers, Albanian gangs have reportedly not been able to infiltrate Liverpool.
A gang expert who hails from London, and who has not been named, claimed Liverpool is the only place in the UK that isn't impacted by Albanian drug gangs, telling The Sun: "The local gangs protect Liverpool and will not let them in."
Just last month, Merseyside police reported the sentencing of three men from Liverpool who were accused of supplying drugs on an 'industrial scale'.
In an investigation which spanned several years, police found John McTigue, 41, Leroy Kassim, 50, and Terence Shields, 37, were part of an organised crime group involved in the supply of at least 100kgs of Class A drugs and over 30kgs of Class B drugs, including cocaine, heroin and amphetamine.
The gang expert claimed Albanian gangsters 'have been warned' against entering and dealing in the city where local gangs run the show.
Meanwhile, Albanian gangs have made their mark in other areas of the country as they are said to be 'probably strongest in north and east London', according to the expert, though they are also 'big in Manchester'.
In spite of the alleged warnings to the gangs, a former Liverpool criminal has suggested it's only a matter of time before Albanian gangs move to infiltrate the city, especially after police managed to bust the EncroChat encrypted phone network.
"The Albanians have made a lot of money and are now in Manchester. They are now into laundering their cash and are linked to door firms across the country," the man said.
"The Encrochat hack has hit a lot of Liverpool drugs gangs hard so the Albanians might be thinking now is the time to make their move into Liverpool, where there is a massive cocaine market. And we have the port too which will interest them."
Merseyside Police has encouraged anyone with information on the use of drugs to contact @MerPolCC, or 101. Alternatively, you can pass information to independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Emily Brown