An £8 million plan to repatriate 200 Albanian prisoners from the United Kingdom has resulted in just 13 individuals being sent back to their home country over a three-year period. The prisoner transfer agreement, established with Albania in 2023, aimed to alleviate the UK's prison population and reduce the financial burden on taxpayers associated with housing foreign nationals.
Albanians constitute the largest foreign nationality within the UK prison system, with approximately 1,000 individuals incarcerated, representing 10 percent of the non-British prison population. The agreement allows for convicted individuals, including those who may have entered the UK illegally, to serve the remainder of their sentences in Albania, provided they consent and both governments approve.
A source within the Albanian Ministry of Justice indicated that the objective was to transfer 200 Albanian prisoners serving sentences exceeding four years, but the current number stands at only 13. A significant impediment to the scheme's success has been the failure of judges in Albania to sign crucial legal documentation required to authorize the transfers, leading to a backlog of cases and systemic delays.
To facilitate the agreement, the UK committed £8 million over two years to refurbish Albanian prisons. Additionally, the Albanian government receives daily per-prisoner custody payments from the UK. The cost of housing a prisoner in the UK is approximately £56,000 annually. For individuals serving lengthy sentences, such as murderers jailed for 35 years or more, the lifetime cost to the UK taxpayer can reach a minimum of £2 million per inmate.
Examples of prisoners serving significant sentences include Erland Spahiu and Ali Qazimaj, both serving 35 years for murder. Koci Selamaj, who received a life sentence for the 2021 murder of teacher Sabina Nessa, was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years in Broadmoor Hospital. He will enter the general prison population once deemed fit.
Klodjan Copja, jailed for 17 years for cocaine dealing, was among the first Albanians returned under the agreement. Copja led a drug network responsible for importing an estimated £60 million worth of cocaine into the UK, and was one of 42 individuals collectively sentenced to 360 years.
A government spokesperson stated that under the current administration, returns and deportations have reached their highest level in nearly a decade, with over 11,700 individuals removed since July 2024. Prisoner transfer agreements are noted as one method among others for removing foreign nationals from UK jails, with legislative changes enabling earlier deportations.