An Albanian national has been jailed for 10 years after admitting trying to smuggle five men into the UK in a lorry and possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
Ibrahim Sollaku, of Priory Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration into the UK and possession with intent to supply class A drugs in December 2025 at Winchester Crown Court on Friday.
Sollaku, 33, was arrested on November 5 last year in Bournemouth by officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).
On the same day, a Belgian law enforcement operation arrested a taxi driver and stopped five Albanian men from boarding a lorry to the UK from Bruges.
Sollaku had arranged for the taxi to take the migrants to a Belgian port where they were to be loaded onto a lorry to cross the Channel.
There, a cab in the UK was set meet them, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
During a search of Sollaku’s address, 105g of cocaine was found wrapped in cling-film, along with more than 90 street deals of cocaine piped into plastic tubes and handwritten notes relating to supplying drugs.
Sollaku was sentenced to seven years and six months for the smuggling offence, and a further two years and six months for intent to supply, which will run consecutively.
Ibrahim Sollaku was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration into the UK and possession with intent to supply class A drugs
During a raid of Sollaku’s address, police seized a plastic container containing 105g of cocaine wrapped in cling film (pictured)
Sollaku had also stashed more than 90 street-ready deals of cocaine piped into plastic tubes (pictured during the raid)
Detective Chief Inspector Adam Smith, from the SWROCU, said: ‘Sollaku is clearly a well-connected criminal, shown by his involvement in both organised immigration crime and class A drug dealing.
‘He wasn’t concerned with the risk or harm both of those offences cause – just in making money.
‘Criminals like Sollaku look to make huge profits by facilitating illegal journeys.
‘The high price tags they charge often help to strengthen their criminal networks, causing yet more harm to our communities.’
Anja Hohmeyer, from the CPS, said: ‘Ibrahim Sollaku played a leading role in this criminal conspiracy to bring people from Albania illegally to the UK.
‘This has been a successful joint operation between the UK and Belgium to capture and disrupt international people-smuggling gangs.
‘Sollaku could have chosen to get a job and make a life for himself and his young family, but he’s thrown that all away.
‘Those who get involved in immigration crime not only risk destroying their lives but also those of their family members.’
