Shpresim Koka, 38, will not be deported from the UK after an immigration court cited the impact on his daughter's health as grounds for his continued residency. Koka argued that his daughter required "therapeutic intervention" for accidents that reportedly worsened when he was in jail.
The First-Tier Tribunal immigration court ruled in February that the effect of his deportation on his daughter would be "unduly harsh." The Home Office has reportedly challenged this decision, and a new hearing has been ordered.
Koka arrived in Britain in 2001, claiming to be a Kosovan refugee at the age of 14. Sixteen years later, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his involvement in a money laundering drug gang. The National Crime Agency apprehended him after he handed over more than £300,000 in Park Royal, west London. He was subsequently imprisoned for three years for cocaine dealing.
Following his prison sentences, Koka was initially slated for deportation. However, an appeal has now resulted in him winning the right to remain in the UK.
Robert Bates of the Centre for Migration Control told The Sun that Koka should not be allowed to continue "plaguing Britain’s streets," suggesting that his daughter could instead return to Albania with him.