Albanian migrant burglary gang admits carrying out spate of £1million raids on luxury mansions across the UK
An Albanian gang has admitted carrying out a £1 million raid on mansions across the UK, including those in the Cheshire millionaire village of Prestbury, home to scores of Premier League footballers.
Five men targeted wealthy homeowners in 44 late-night burglaries, with officers seizing 13 designer bags and 14 luxury watches worth nearly £17,000.
Other photos released by Cheshire police show scales bearing gold jewelery and huge wads of banknotes.
One of the gang formed a relationship with a British woman and began exchanging messages with her, saying they were like US outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.
Endrit Nikolli, 27, George Lleshaj, 31, and Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, who live together in Walsall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess criminal property in separate hearings at Chester Crown Court today.
Fellow gang members Kristian Gropcaj, 30, of Birminham, and Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, of Sheffield, South York, also pleaded guilty to the same two offences.
Nickolli’s girlfriend Jade Tubb, 33, of Walsall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess criminal property.
Police trapped the gang after a major ten-month investigation and recovered a photograph of one of the thieves posing defiantly with a wad of cash and holding some of the stolen watches.
Albanian gang members (left) Endrit Nikolli, 27, George Lleshaj, 31, Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess criminal property at separate hearings at Chester Crown Court.
Fellow gang members (left) Kristian Gropcaj, 30, and Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, also pleaded guilty to the same offenses – all five are expected to be sentenced in February.
Among the loot of the theft gang was a series of luxury watches stolen from the mansions they plundered. Pictured: Sidorjan Lleshi rocks multiple watches
Other photos show two gang members wearing hoodies, hats and masks covering their faces, posing with a stolen safe and a giant sledgehammer.
Five Albanians had emigrated to mainland Britain, although some lived affluent lifestyles in their home country.
Social media photos have emerged of them enjoying the party lifestyle in Albania.
One member posts photos of trips to Monte Carlo, Paris and Milan, while another stands next to a silver Mercedes and boasts: ‘My car.’
In one post, Kristian Gropcaj, 30, shared: ‘Yes life sucks’, to which George Lleshaj, 31, responded: ‘Free jam went viral – I’m so happy.’
Police said the investigation into the gang began in October 2024 when detectives in Macclesfield became aware of a string of burglaries across Cheshire with a similar modus operandi.
In all cases, criminals often gained entry using stairs to access first-floor windows and balconies.
Once inside, they looted the property, stealing jewellery, designer bags, watches and money.
Police then consulted with other forces who reported similar break-ins in their areas. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology was used to identify the vehicles involved in all these incidents and it was revealed that a red Ford Focus insured in the name of Gropcaj was seen in most of the incidents.
Some of the luxury bags seized by Cheshire Police after five thieves were caught
Two gang members, their faces covered, pose with a stolen safe and a large hammer
Image of a firearm lying on a table filled with luxury goods and wads of banknotes, posted on Facebook by Albanian gang member Sidorjan Lleshi
Some of the stolen money seized by Cheshire Constabulary during the arrest of the gang
Jewelery stolen from luxury mansions during gang’s theft spree is weighed on scales
Later phone checks on Gropcaj revealed that he was in regular contact with the other three suspects and that they would meet regularly at a cafe in Birmingham’s Jewelery Quarter.
DNA traces of one of the gang were found at the scene of a burglary in Staffordshire.
The gang was detained in raids on addresses in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham on July 2 last year.
Multiple cellphones were also seized during the search warrants, and analysis officers recovered hundreds of images of the stolen items, as well as messages containing links to Google maps associated with the scene of the theft.
Officers estimated the total value of the stolen items to be in excess of £1 million, but some items were recovered while the majority were sold.
Detective Sergeant Laura Fox, of Cheshire Police, said today: ‘This was a high-level organized crime gang responsible for at least 44 high value thefts across the UK.
‘It was all carefully organised; The gang would scout their targets before committing their crimes, even spreading their crime spree across multiple forces to avoid detection.
‘The gang specifically targeted wealthy victims with the aim of stealing as much high-value property as possible. They even set weekly targets for the amount of gold they wanted to steal.
‘It was clear that the gang had absolutely no regard for the impact their crimes would have on the victims. Instead they regularly boasted about their crimes and shared pictures of their ill-gotten gains.’
