A suspected British hitman was arrested while doing his weekly shopping at a Morrisons supermarket in Peckham, south London. Harry Simpson, 32, is accused of being part of a four-man hit squad that shot dead an Albanian politician in a resort town.
Simpson allegedly travelled to Shengjin, Albania, with other Britons to carry out a contract killing. CCTV footage shows businessman Ardian Nikulaj, 51, making a phone call at his hotel on April 19 before a gunman wearing a crash helmet and hi-viz jacket burst in and shot him six times, then fled on a motorbike.
Prosecutors claim Simpson was seen communicating with an employee at the Coral Hotel and using a phone to coordinate with accomplices. The murder is believed to be part of a decades-old blood feud between two Albanian families.
Simpson, who previously served time for drug dealing, was arrested on July 5 and remanded in custody. He faces extradition to Albania along with four other suspects, including Edmond Haxhia, 37, a Birmingham-based Albanian businessman accused of ordering the hit. Others implicated are Stephen Hunt, 49, Thomas Mithan, 35, and Harriet Bridgeman, 27, all from Bristol.
The suspected gunman, Ruben Saraiva, 27, a Portuguese national arrested in Morocco, also faces extradition. If convicted, each suspect faces a minimum of 31 years in prison in Albania.
