An investigation has uncovered that Albanian drug dealers are selling mobile phones linked to their established customer networks on TikTok for sums exceeding £300,000. Criminal gangs have developed such profitable 'lines' of British users purchasing drugs via a single phone number that the device itself commands a value running into many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Lucrative Adverts on Social Media
These criminals are using social media platforms to advertise the phones to other Albanian offenders within the UK, who are eager to capitalise on a ready-made stream of customers. The sellers even provide potential buyers with the opportunity to test the phones before committing to a purchase and insist that the mobiles remain 'safe from law enforcement interference.'
High-Value Listings Across the UK
The investigation identified one account, named 'Albanian Postcode', which offered a phone line operating in Brighton and Hove for sale at a staggering £300,000. The page claimed the number receives orders for up to 900 grams of cocaine each week. It stated in Albanian: 'The number is switched on for 24 hours for workers (drug dealers) to deliver by taxis. We can offer this number to prospective buyers for a week or two if they pay a deposit. Only serious buyers get in touch.'
Another profile, named ‘shqipepostcode1’ or ‘Albanian Postcode1’, purported to have a phone based in Barking, east London, that received between 350 and 400 orders for cocaine weekly. Its advert declared: ‘Mobile number on sale in Barking and Dagenham. Price of the number: £220K but we can drop that price. “Tickets” (cocaine) we have sold all the time on 50s (half gram of cocaine). We give this phone to be tested up to two weeks. We are selling the number due to not managing it any longer.’
Widespread Network of Sales
Further adverts were found from an account named ‘shqipet_e_pikave’, or Albanian 'Points' – a slang term for cocaine – which posted nine separate listings for phones with existing customer bases across Britain. One stated: ‘Working (drugs) number for sale in Gloucester. Price 140,000 sterling. Estimated sale of 250 doses per week. With a guarantee with the right to test it. You can monitor for a day the person who has the phone.’
The investigation discovered other adverts purporting to sell phones covering areas including Manchester, Kent, Essex, Brighton, Southampton, and across the Midlands and greater London. Another listing on the same account offered a phone in Leicester for £90,000, claiming: ‘In one week from the contacts we sell 120/140 pika (grams of cocaine) and 750 grams of grass (cannabis). This number is without any problem (from law enforcement). With the right to test it and guarantee. Get in touch for more information.’
Recruitment and Operational Insights
Other posts on the China-based platform included adverts aimed at recruiting Albanian drug runners within the UK. An Albanian taxi driver, who previously worked as a drug runner in Birmingham and has since returned to Tirana, provided insight into the operations. He explained that he would deliver up to 30 grams of cocaine daily across the city, receiving calls from a 'boss' controlling the 'line'.
‘I would go into the city centre of Birmingham about eight times a day to deliver,’ he said. ‘Clients would get into my car, I would drive a few minutes and do the deal then they would get out. One of my clients was a doctor. He took lines of cocaine in my car, saying he wanted to have as much as possible because his wife would take it all once he got home. My boss had a supply chain that ran through the Netherlands and employed 12 drivers like me across Birmingham. I used to get £1,700 a week for this, tax free, with the petrol paid for me.’
Law Enforcement and Sentencing
Frank Glen, the National Crime Agency’s Western Balkans threat lead, stated that Albanian organised criminal gangs (OCGs) are highly sophisticated, with a significant presence in South America where they source high-purity cocaine. ‘Albanian OCGs typically operate in loose networks and forge links with other OCGs to commit offences and they have a reputation for reliability and delivery,’ he said. ‘They are generally very quick to move their illicit profits back to Albania for investment or to safely hide from authorities.’
A law enforcement source indicated that Albanian gangs are now firmly established as running substantial drugs operations across most of the UK, aside from Liverpool where more traditional British gangs still dominate. The authorities collaborate with social media platforms, but policing pages offering illegal services is likened to 'whack-a-mole', with new profiles emerging whenever others are shut down.
Recent Convictions
Recent court cases underscore the scale of this criminal activity. In September, six Albanian drug dealers – Leke Gjergjaj, Genald Sekja, Julian Palushi, Eugen Aliaj, Ricardo Rupi, and Pjeter Gjergjaj – were jailed for more than 77 years combined after Scotland Yard recovered a shotgun, 36kg of cannabis, and £500,000 worth of cocaine in Hackney, northeast London.
Separately, Klevis Arifi, 21, and Asllan Cani, 28, were jailed in September for a combined five years after police seized £35,000 of cocaine from their flat in Maidstone, Kent. Ervis Doksani, 22, was jailed last month for possession with intent to supply class A drugs after being caught with 108 grams of cocaine in Brighton.
Platform Response and Broader Context
The UK has one of the highest rates of cocaine use globally, with more than 1,000 deaths per year attributed to the drug. A spokesman from TikTok confirmed that the platform had banned the accounts identified during the investigation. They added that TikTok employs tens of thousands of safety professionals who speak over 70 languages, including Albanian, and removes the majority of illegal content before it is reported.
