Albanian People Smuggling Boss Faces Four Years in Jail After Illegally Re-Entering UK

 An Albanian human trafficker who smuggled hundreds of migrants into the UK by truck is facing up to four years in prison after he was caught illegally re-entering the country following extradition—thanks to an investigative report by the Mail on Sunday.

Alket Dauti

The UK Home Office praised the newspaper's "excellent investigative journalism," which led to the arrest of 38-year-old Alket Dauti, a key figure in a trafficking network that transported migrants from Belgium to Britain.

According to Top Channel, which cited Mail on Sunday, Dauti was apprehended just a week after it was revealed he had secretly re-entered the UK months after being released from prison in Belgium and extradited to Albania, local media say.

In a bizarre twist, Dauti even posted TikTok videos showing himself driving around London, while relatives uploaded photos of him taking his two daughters to school near their family’s council home in Penge, southeast London.

When The Mail on Sunday contacted the Home Office about Dauti’s presence in the UK, officials had no record of his re-entry. But within a week of the story being published, he was arrested.

On Friday, at Woolwich Crown Court, Dauti pleaded guilty to "entering the UK without permission." His sentencing is scheduled for May 12, and he now faces up to four years in prison, after which he is likely to be deported again.

Dauti played a central role in an Albanian trafficking ring that charged migrants £8,000 to travel in the back of trucks and £13,000 for safer spots in the front.

He was originally arrested in Penge in 2018 and deported to Belgium, where he had previously been sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison. After serving time there, he was deported to Albania in 2024. However, authorities believe he returned to the UK illegally in November of the same year.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government remains "determined to remove foreign criminals from the UK," adding:

“We all have a role to play—whether it’s excellent investigative journalism like that carried out by the Mail on Sunday, or the thousands who call our Immigration Line with vital information.”

Dauti's case has raised fresh concerns over border security and the monitoring of deported criminals, reigniting the debate on the UK’s immigration enforcement policies.