An initiative costing £8 million to send 200 Albanian prisoners back to their home country has facilitated the return of just 13 individuals in the past three years. The prisoner transfer agreement, established in 2023, was intended to reduce the United Kingdom's prison population and alleviate the financial burden of housing foreign inmates.
Albanians constitute the largest foreign nationality within British prisons, with approximately 1,000 individuals incarcerated, representing 10 percent of the non-British prison population. The agreement allows for convicted criminals to serve the remainder of their sentences in Albania, a provision that includes individuals like Koci Selamaj, who received a life sentence for the 2021 murder of teacher Sabina Nessa.
However, the successful execution of these transfers requires the agreement of both the prisoner and the Albanian and British governments. A source from the Albanian Ministry of Justice indicated that while the objective was to transfer 200 prisoners serving sentences longer than four years, only 13 have been repatriated to date. This shortfall has been attributed to delays caused by Albanian judges failing to sign necessary legal documentation, resulting in a backlog of cases.
To facilitate the agreement, the UK committed £8 million over two years to refurbish Albanian prisons. Payments for prisoner custody are provided to the Albanian government on a daily basis per transferred inmate. The cost of housing a prisoner in the UK is estimated at £56,000 annually, with long-term sentences for serious offenses like murder potentially costing taxpayers millions.
Notable cases include Erland Spahiu and Ali Qazimaj, both serving 35-year sentences for murder, and Selamaj, who received a minimum of 36 years. Klodjan Copja, sentenced to 17 years for cocaine trafficking and previously heading a network responsible for importing £60 million worth of drugs, was among the initial repatriations.
A government spokesperson stated that returns and deportations are at their highest level in nearly a decade, with over 11,700 individuals removed since July 2024. The spokesperson emphasized that prisoner transfer agreements are one of several methods employed to remove foreign criminals from UK jails, noting legislative changes that permit earlier deportation.