AN Albanian pimp who snuck into the country on a fake passport and forced his girlfriend to work in a brothel is still walking the streets of the UK.
Gezim Troka, 50, was found guilty in absentia by a court in Albania back in 2008 for using violence and threats to force his partner into sex work in Greece and Italy during the 1990s and early 2000s.
A wanted poster issued by Albanian police for Gezim Troka, 50
AlamyA judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court granted Troka unconditional bail in 2024[/caption]
But despite an international arrest warrant, Troka managed to enter the UK on a dodgy Bulgarian passport.
The crook wasn’t even on the radar of authorities until he was arrested and convicted for common assault ten years later.
It was only after he landed in immigration detention that officials realised he was a wanted fugitive and approved Albania’s extradition request.
Even after his first appeal flopped, Troka was allowed to drag the case all the way to the High Court.
Judges finally threw out his bid to stay in 2021 but Troka is still in the UK nearly four years on, a source revealed to the Daily Mail.
A judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court shockingly granted Troka unconditional bail on August 2, 2024.
It means he is free to go wherever he likes with no restrictions, despite his vile past.
The Albanian criminal had already spent more than three years in custody between August 2018 and his failed High Court appeal before being let out.
Now, sources have told the Mail that Troka is still in the UK – and with almost two decades passing since his conviction, officials in Albania are now considering scrapping the extradition request altogether.
That could mean he stays in Britain permanently.
Court documents reveal Troka began a relationship with a woman in 1994 while living in Fier, Albania.
They illegally travelled to Athens, where he used physical and psychological abuse to force her into prostitution – pocketing her earnings.
They later moved to Rome, then Padua, where he continued the exploitation.
He was finally nicked in Italy in May 1995 and sentenced to 16 months behind bars for “exploitation and favouring prostitution” – but he only served part of the time.
An expert on Albanian organised crime told the Mail that it was not unusual for criminals from the country to become involved in prostitution.
He explained to the outlet: “In the late 1990s, Albanians in Italy learned how the Italian mafia controlled street prostitution.
“They started trafficking Albanian girls to Italy and Greece under false pretences – then forcing them into sex work, like in Troka’s case.
“By the 2000s, they had expanded into the UK – taking over parts of Soho and opening brothels using victims from Albania and Eastern Europe.”
By 2007, Troka was a wanted man in Albania. An international warrant was issued the following year, just before he was caught trying to sneak into the UK on the fake passport.
‘SOFT BORDERS’
Despite public outrage, the Home Office has refused to confirm whether Troka will ever be extradited.
Robert Bates, from the Centre for Migration Control, blasted the situation, saying: “This case shows how soft Britain’s borders have become.
“This man is clearly not conducive to the public good, and his continued presence in our country is an insult.”
It comes after a terrorist cop killer and gang boss lodged yet another court appeal to stay in the UK.
Maksim Cela, 59, first claimed asylum, bleating that rival mobsters would kill him if he returned to Albania.
He later changed his story and launched a human rights court battle claiming deporting him would put him at risk of degrading treatment or torture.
Brazen Cela even secured a judgement from a UK immigration judge enabling him to remain anonymous until The Sun unmasked him after a 23-month legal fight.
The scheming crook lost his latest appeal against deportation in May after a hearing was told he was a liar.
But The Sun has learned that he is fighting on – this time in the Court of Appeal – in a move which could cost taxpayers a fortune.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
