Four members of an organised crime group (OCG) operating a county lines drugs network in Harrogate and the surrounding areas have been ordered to pay back more than £115,048 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The leader Ermal Biba (aged 40), alongside key members of the group, Allaman Tatariku (aged 37), Klajdi Lleshi (aged 25), and Adam Sarkowski (aged 43), were originally sentenced to over 31 years in jail at Leeds Crown Court in August 2023 for conspiring to supply class B drugs (cannabis) and Class A drugs (cocaine).
Biba was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months imprisonment for Conspiring to Supply Class A and Class B drugs. Lleshi was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months imprisonment, Tatariku received 7 years and 1 month imprisonment and Sarkowski received 4 years and 7 months imprisonment.
At the time of sentencing a timetable for Confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was set.
An investigation was carried out by North Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit to identify assets held by the defendants, with assistance from the CPS and liaison between Albanian Authorities and the UK Home Office, which identified assets held by Ermal Biba in Albania including a house, for Confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
At Leeds Crown Court on 28 March 2025 Biba received a Confiscation Order demanding repayment of £108,566.07 having benefitted by £4,542,888.91 from his illegal activities, the repayment amount is based on current assets.
The order made for £108,566.07 must be paid within three months, or a default sentence of two years will added to Biba’s existing sentence
The other drug members had previously received Confiscation Orders in 2024 totalling £6482.35.
Katharine Wells, a Financial Investigator at North Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit comments:
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.
