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Cannabis gang boss loses deportation appeal over trafficking claims

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Nov, 13:27 · Archive

An Albanian man jailed for running a £2 million-a-year cannabis operation in Carlisle has lost his deportation appeal after a judge rejected his trafficking claims.

Igli Hazizaj, 28, an Albanian national, was sentenced to three years in prison in February 2025 for his role in an organised criminal conspiracy involving cannabis factories across three Carlisle properties: Newtown Road, Howe Street and Warwick Road. The operation was worth approximately £2 million a year.

After his conviction, Hazizaj pursued an appeal against the Home Office's refusal of his protection and human rights claims. He maintained that he had been forced into criminal activity after his father borrowed money from an Albanian criminal gang, which he claimed then trafficked him into Britain. He said he was forced to work in cannabis factories, including one in Scotland where he claimed he was locked inside until his arrest in September 2024.

The First-tier Tribunal, sitting in Manchester on October 28, examined his case and rejected his account entirely. Judge C R Cole identified numerous inconsistencies in Hazizaj's accounts of when he travelled to Britain, how he became involved in the criminal operation and the circumstances of his alleged captivity.

Evidence from his former partner undermined his claims. Photographs showed the couple together in April 2024, travelling together in July and getting engaged in Manchester on August 30 that year. The judge concluded: "I find that the appellant has fabricated his whole account of being in debt and being trafficked to the UK in order to repay that debt."

The judge added that Hazizaj came to the UK "of his own free will to participate in criminal activities for his own financial gain". With his appeal dismissed, Hazizaj will proceed towards deportation.

Cannabis gang boss loses deportation appeal over trafficking claims
Image: Westmorland Gazette

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In this story: Igli Hazizaj · Carlisle · Albania · Scotland · Manchester · First-tier Tribunal

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