MEMBERS of an Eastern European drugs gang who plotted to flood Scotland with £1.2 million of cocaine will be deported on completion of their sentences.
The Herald understands Arben Dumani, 23, Albert Memia, 25, Fabion Ponari, 23, and Gjeorgj Pjetri, 28, will all be issued with deportation orders from the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
The gang, from Albania and Kosovo, was jailed for a total of 30 years this week after the men helped to bring about their own downfall by taking photos on their phones of themselves snorting the Class A drug.
Dumani was jailed for 12 years after he was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, while Memia was sentenced to 10 years after he pled guilty to the same charge. Couriers Ponari and Pjetri were jailed for five years and three-and-a-half years respectively.
Under UKBA rules, a non-European Economic Area foreign national who is jailed for more than 12 months is automatically subject to deportation.
The crime network operated from a safe house in Kinning Park, Glasgow. Dumani and Memia were involved in the high-level and large-scale drugs operation between May 3 and May 30 last year.
Judge Michael O'Grady QC said the operation was "exceptional in its planning, sophistication and scope".
A spokeswoman for UKBA said: "Any non-European Economic Area foreign national sentenced to more than 12 months in prison will automatically face deportation on completion of their sentence."
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