Foreign criminals removed to Albania

Today (Thursday 4^th August) the UK Government removed 19 foreign criminals on a charter flight to Albania.

Four individuals who entered the UK illegally, and a further three individuals with failed asylum claims, were also removed.         

The foreign national offenders had received combined prison sentences of more than 47 years and were convicted of crimes including kidnapping, possession of a knife/bladed weapon, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, and actual bodily harm.

Individuals returned on today’s flight to Albania include:  

• An individual sentenced to over four years’ imprisonment for kidnapping, actual bodily harm and facilitating leave by deception.
• An individual sentenced to over six years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
• An individual sentenced to over two years’ imprisonment for being knowingly involved in the supply/production of drugs.
• An individual who arrived in the UK illegally on 22 July via the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland. He was apprehended by police and detained, then removed less than two weeks after he was encountered.
• A father and (adult) son who arrived via small boat on 31 May and claimed asylum. The claims were considered via our Detained Asylum Casework process and refused on 8 July. Several sets of further submissions were raised in the days prior to return, however these were all rejected. The family were returned within nine weeks of arriving in the UK.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:   

“These criminals are responsible for appalling offences such as kidnapping and drugs offences, which destroy lives, families and communities. They have violated our laws and our values, leaving their victims living with the scars of their crimes.

“The British public should be in no doubt of my determination to remove them by all available means to make our streets safer. Our new Nationality and Borders Act will help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals.

“We are continuing to remove foreign criminals and those with no right to be here, as the public rightly expects.”

In July 2022, 243 foreign national offenders were removed from the UK on both charter and scheduled flights.

This is part of a regular schedule of returns to multiple countries, to remove those with no right to remain in the UK. 

Since January 2019 the UK has removed 10,741 foreign national offenders (to year ending December 2021).

The Nationality and Borders Act will further deter illegal entry into the UK, breaking the business model of people-smuggling networks and speed up the removal of those with no right to be in the UK. 

ENDS

Notes to Editors:   

• Over the last few weeks, the enforced removal of more foreign criminals from the UK has taken place.
• Individuals removed on charter flights include three individuals removed to Romania who were convicted of crimes including kidnapping, sexual assault and rape.
• Today’s flight is the 40^th operated by the Home Office this year as the Government tackles illegal migration and abuse of the asylum system.
• By the same point in 2021, the Home Office had operated 39 charter flights. By the same point in 2019 and 2020, the Home Office had operated 13 and 15 flights respectively. Flight numbers in recent years have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Figures for monthly returns totals are sourced from local data. Fuller statistics on monthly returns are released through our quarterly Immigration Statistics and Migration Transparency Data and will be published in due course.
• For more information on charter flights, please visit: Returns and Charter Flight Factsheet (May 2022) - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)