Leader of drugs gang who made £4.5m ordered to pay back £100,000

Ermal Biba, 40, was the leader of an organised crime group which sold cannabis and cocaine in Yorkshire.

Biba was jailed for 13 years and six months at Leeds Crown Court in August 2023, alongside 37-year-old Allaman Tatariku, who was jailed for seven years and one month, Klajdi Lleshi, 25, who was sentenced for six years and three months and Adam Sarkowski, 43, who was jailed for four years and seven months.

North Yorkshire Police then carried out an investigation to find assets held by the defendants, which included a house in Albania owned by Biba.

At the same court in March, it was revealed Biba had benefited to the tune of £4,542,888.91 from his illegal activities. He was given a confiscation order - based on his current assets - and ordered to pay back £108,566.07.

The money must be repaid within three months otherwise another two years will be added to Biba’s jail term.

The other drug members had previously received confiscation orders last year totalling £6,482.35.

Katharine Wells, a financial investigator at North Yorkshire Police economic crime unit, said: “North Yorkshire Police use confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure offenders do not continue to benefit from a lifestyle fuelled by crime.

We will continue to gather evidence and use the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation to investigate the funds of criminals and confiscate any assets or monies we believe they have accrued through their criminal activities."