Britain, the shadows of the recruitment of Albanian immigrants in the cannabis industry

2024-03-12 19:14:00, Kronika CNA

Migrants are attracted to "bar houses" without being fully aware and informed of the dangers this illegal activity brings to the UK. This material was prepared by journalist Klodiana Lala and is a collaboration between the BIRN Network and the Voice of America.

Tens of thousands of Albanians have immigrated to the United Kingdom in recent years. Most are well integrated, but there are also those who have chosen the path of quick and easy profit, becoming part of the illegal industry of growing cannabis indoors, in so-called "grass houses" ".

Footage filmed by British police shows the arrest of one of them, a man we're calling Milo, who agreed to share his story with BIRN on condition of anonymity.

"A shepherd's house for Albanians, for those who have suffered it, is a real hell. "Those who don't know and run away with that idea of ??lek paper - as Kuksian did, for a month they say they make lek paper, it's a fraud and phantom advertisement", he says.

Milo does not fulfill the typical profile of the Albanian immigrant who is included in a "barn house". In his mid-50s, he is married with three children. Before traveling to the United Kingdom, he worked in public administration and engaged in business. He traveled to London in 2020, with the help of a trafficker, whom he paid 16 thousand pounds.

"I took a taxi here, I arrived straight to London. We have crossed the Channel Tunnel. We got into the trunk of an 'Audi A6', the driver put us in. We stayed in the luggage for almost 40 minutes, until we reached London," he says.

Through the information forwarded by the British authorities, the Albanian police has created a profile for the subjects at risk of emigration and involvement in illegal activities. According to the deputy minister of the interior, Besfort Lamallari, most of them are men aged 20 to 45 years.

"In terms of geographic distribution, it's all areas, but mainly the areas with the lowest economic development stand out, and we generally talk about categories that have low education and in some cases secondary education," says Lamallari.

Researchers who have studied this new wave of migration point out that the driving factors are complex, but the logic of those leaving is simple.

"It starts with 'I have a need, a need to materialize ambition, I want to do something in life, or I have an economic need'. I look around, and I see that my options are very limited. I do not find a support. I do not believe in the social system that surrounds me, be it political, be it the incompetence of institutions. Consequently, this puts the individual in a sense of despair, lethargy and lack of hope," explains immigration expert Redion Qirjazi.

According to data collected by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, about 16,000 Albanians applied for asylum in Britain in 2022, where about 12,000 arrived in small boats and dinghies through the English Channel. Most come from underdeveloped areas of Albania and face difficulties integrating into the UK.

According to the criminological expert, Fabian Zhilla, young Albanians with below-average educational levels are recruited by criminal groups, as they find it very difficult to formally integrate into the labor market.

"Criminal groups, having a stabilized infrastructure and not having high demands for their skills, immediately integrated them by activating them, either in the cocaine traffic, by activating them even in the drug houses. What is required of them is simply loyalty," says Zhilla.

The illegal business of "grass houses" includes, in addition to growers, investors, real estate agents and often landlords, who are rewarded with a share of the cultivated drug.

For a grass house with 70 roots, about 50 thousand pounds should be invested. Soil, bulbs, filters, motors, pipes and other equipment are brought into the house discreetly at a time when the neighbors are away for work. More than the British police, growers fear gangs robbing "grass houses".

Milo recounts an episode of the fight, after masked robbers broke down the door of the house where he was staying and entered the kitchen with baseball bats in their hands.

"The first time I face thieves, thieves in the shepherd's house. Grab the baseball bat, they face over there, we face over here. Three us, fourteen them. We had a fight, the kitchen was pulled out of place, spoons, forks, plates creaked. An hour of fighting with the thieves, neither the neighbor answered the phone, nor the police, nothing," he said.

In 2023, around 1,500 Albanian citizens were imprisoned in the United Kingdom. Most of the convictions are related to bar houses. Young people are often drawn into these activities without being fully aware of the legal and personal consequences, lured by promises of easy profits and a life of luxury.

"Many young people are misinformed and as soon as they go there they are faced with a situation that they think is the beginning and they are lying about it. The moment you enter the criminal world, it is very difficult to get out," says expert Zhilla.

The covert nature of youth recruitment into criminal activities made them difficult for law enforcement authorities to detect and combat. According to experts, it is essential to raise awareness among young people about the risks and consequences of involvement in such activities, as well as to offer legal and sustainable alternatives for their future in the country./ VOA