Footage appears to show an Albanian gang clad in balaclavas filming themselves on TikTok raiding a cannabis crop house. The chilling post shows masked men using infrared scanners on normal suburban streets to locate the heat from cannabis grow lamps. Once they have found a target, they make their way inside. They pose for the camera with a violent trap song accompanying the footage with a caption reading ‘f*** you’ as the gang rob the house.
The clip shows a bewildered-looking man in shorts and a T-shirt who apparently lives or works in the house being intimidated by the gang. The camera focuses on the raiders clutching cannabis plants. The crop houses are kitted out with high-tech lighting and heating to aid the growth of the plants in what can be a highly lucrative business.
Series of Criminal Videos
The shocking footage is one of a series of videos featuring the men in what seems to be a celebration of their criminal lifestyle. The house, allegedly a crop house in which cannabis is grown on an industrial scale, appears several times on the account. The property, which looks like an ordinary suburban house, cannot be identified. The video is believed to have been shot in West Yorkshire, according to the online footprint of the account holder who posted the clip.
Other footage posted on the same TikTok account shows a masked member of the gang climbing up the side of a house before clambering through an open window. Another shows an apparent reconnaissance mission in which the gang hide and watch a crop house. Some of the footage is tagged with Albanian flags and accompanied by slogans in Albanian. The rap themes are charged with violence and knives are mentioned, but no weapons are featured in the clips. In one of the films, the gang members are seen holed up in what appears to be a safe house.
Similar Incidents in London
The latest crop house footage is chillingly similar to that posted by another Albanian crew in east London. In Barking, a heavily armed Albanian gang called the Hellbanianz filmed themselves brandishing weapons while flaunting cash, Rolexes, and driving Ferraris. They ran the Gascoigne estate where their soldiers lived. Their brash online posts eventually led the police to the door, and some members have been convicted.
Meanwhile, a criminal network operating in Southgate, north London, was exposed, where people trafficking and drug deals bring in huge sums. An Albanian gang with its centre of operations around Southgate station has a vice-like grip on the area, according to local security sources. Such is the prevalence of the crew that the area around the station is known to locals as ‘Little Tirana’ after the Albanian capital.
A source told Metro: “We call it little Tirana around here. The Albanian gangs have a grip on the community and there is a lot of fear about being taken out [killed]. They have taken over some of the businesses and have threatened others. There have been connections with people trafficking, protection rackets and drug dealing. It’s their turf for sure and they hide in plain sight. We know who they are and where they operate out of. It has been reported to the police; they need to get a grip of this.”
Rise of Albanian Gangs in the Capital
Other areas of the capital have also seen the rise of Albanian gangs. When raiders stormed an Albanian cannabis factory to steal the product, their machetes and knives proved no match for the handguns the Albanians pulled to defend their territory. A court heard that the robbers who were trying to steal from the factory in Croydon had ‘brought knives to a gunfight.’
The Shqiptare is the term used by the National Crime Agency to describe the Albanian crime syndicates. They sell huge amounts of cocaine smuggled into the UK via Latin America. It is believed they run a majority of the estimated £5 billion cocaine market. They buy for up to £5,000 a kilo according to police estimates. They started selling for less profit than their rivals to corner the market. The supply of cocaine and other drugs on an industrial scale has provided the Albanian mob with funds to almost ‘buy up’ communities.
