British police say Albanian fugitives ‘hiding in London’

TIRANA, June 5 – British police say that according to a file sent to Scotland Yard by police in Tirana, more than 100 dangerous Albanian criminals could be hiding in the UK, some of them in London.
The statement was aired last weekend by BBC.
The head of Interpol in the UK said most of the fugitives are wanted for murder. However, they also have employed tactics, like asking for asylum, to prolong their stay in Britain. Some have also claimed asylum on the basis of pretending to be a refugee from Kosovo.
Albanian police have made a list of more than 100 criminals who they believe are hiding in Britain, many of whom have known links to London.
Pellumb Seferi, the head of Interpol in Tirana, said: “From our intelligence we think that there are more than 100 criminals from Albania who are currently living in the UK. They are wanted at an international level for serious crimes – for murder, attempted homicide, prostitution and drugs.”
Earlier this year, senior detectives from the Met’s Extradition Unit visited Tirana to discuss the filed.
Scotland Yard disputes the exact number of Albanian fugitives on the run but admits there may be many who are still living under false identities.