A sophisticated Albanian organised crime gang has admitted to carrying out a spate of burglaries targeting multi-million-pound mansions across the United Kingdom, including properties in the affluent footballer belt of Cheshire.
The Million-Pound Crime Spree
The five men confessed to conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to possess criminal property following a major ten-month police investigation. The gang was responsible for at least 44 late-night raids, with the total value of stolen goods estimated to be in excess of £1 million. Their targets included homes in the millionaire village of Prestbury, Cheshire, an area known for housing numerous Premier League footballers.
During the raids, officers recovered a haul of luxury items, including 13 designer handbags and 14 high-end watches worth almost £17,000. Other evidence photographs released by Cheshire Constabulary showed scales piled with gold jewellery and large bundles of banknotes. In a brazen display, one gang member posted a picture on social media defiantly posing with wads of cash and holding some of the stolen timepieces.
Gang Members and Their Downfall
The convicted men are Endrit Nikolli, 27, George Lleshaj, 31, and Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, who all lived together in Walsall. Their fellow gang members, Kristian Gropcaj, 30, from Birmingham, and Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, from Sheffield, also pleaded guilty to the same two offences at separate hearings at Chester Crown Court. All five are due to be sentenced in February.
Nickolli's girlfriend, Jade Tubb, 33, of Walsall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess criminal property. The investigation began in October 2024 when detectives in Macclesfield noticed a series of burglaries with a similar method across Cheshire. The offenders typically used ladders to access first-floor windows and balconies before ransacking properties for jewellery, designer goods, watches, and cash.
Police Investigation and Gloating Criminals
Police used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to identify a red Ford Focus, insured in Gropcaj's name, that had been seen at multiple crime scenes. Telephone analysis revealed regular contact between the suspects, who would meet at a coffee shop in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. DNA from one gang member was also found at a burglary in Staffordshire.
The gang was finally detained during coordinated raids on July 2 last year at addresses in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, and Birmingham. Analysis of seized mobile phones uncovered hundreds of images of stolen items and messages containing Google Maps links that correlated with burglary locations. Officers said the gang even set weekly targets for the amount of gold they aimed to steal.
Det Sgt Laura Fox of Cheshire Police stated: 'This was a high-level organised crime gang... All were carefully orchestrated, with the gang researching their targets.' She added that the offenders 'regularly gloated about their crimes and shared images of ill-gotten gains,' showing no regard for their victims. While some items have been recovered, the vast majority of the stolen luxury goods are believed to have been sold on.
