Mariglen Llapushi, a 27-year-old Albanian serial offender, was caught dealing cocaine after a high-speed police chase ended with him abandoning a rental car—but leaving a key tag that led officers to his hotel. His lawyer argued that facing deportation and leaving his partner and child behind in the UK would be a far greater punishment than his prison sentence.
Police pursuit and discovery
On the night of June 2, Llapushi was driving along the A487 in Aberystwyth when a police officer noticed he was speeding at 40mph. When the officer activated his blue lights, Llapushi accelerated away. He eventually stopped the car on a farm track and fled on foot.
Inside the vehicle, officers found seven bags of cocaine worth approximately £280. Prosecutor Sian Cutter told Swansea Crown Court: “The key was still in the ignition and on the keychain was a tag which said ‘Portland Street’.”
Search leads to hotel
The officer searched the Portland Street area and approached a taxi to ask if the driver had seen the suspect. “In fact, purely by luck, the defendant was sitting in the passenger seat, and the officer recognised him from the pursuit,” said Ms Cutter. At Llapushi’s feet was a carrier bag containing a receipt for the nearby Four Seasons hotel in Portland Street, where he had been staying.
Police searched his hotel room, which had been emptied, but his phone contained a video of himself burying wraps of cocaine under a hedge. An officer recognised the spot and recovered 19 wraps worth £760 in total.
Previous offences and fake ID
Llapushi had used fake identification to rent the car, pretending to be an Italian with a different name. Judge Huw Rees noted he was banned from driving at the time, having committed multiple driving-while-disqualified offences in recent years. Overall, Llapushi had 15 previous offences, including drug possession and production.
He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, driving while banned, and using a false identity document.
Lawyer's plea and sentencing
His barrister, Sol Hartley, said Llapushi was smuggled into the UK by gangsters who forced him to pay off debts by looking after a cannabis farm, leading to a four-month jail term in 2021. After release, he was again pressured into dealing drugs. “He has a partner and three-year-old son in the UK. He struggles to comprehend that he will be deported and have to leave his family behind, which is a far greater punishment than any custodial sentence the court can pass,” Hartley said.
Judge Rees noted the courts had been lenient with Llapushi previously and sentenced him to three years in prison, endorsing his driving licence with six points as he was already disqualified for three years. The judge added that Llapushi would likely be deported within that time.
