An illegal immigrant who sold crystal meth to pay off his debt to a people-smuggling gang has been jailed.
Albanian national Karafil Paci owed £6,000 to traffickers who brought him into the UK in the back of a lorry on a ferry from Calais.
After arriving in June 2014, he was forced to “pay a price by selling drugs on the streets of London” to settle the debt, City of London Police said.
The gang supplied him with a car, two mobile phones and thousands of pounds worth of crystal meth, cocaine, MDMA and mephedrone.
But the 27-year-old was snared after being pulled up while driving a gold Toyota Prius in London Bridge on Friday, April 27.
Officers searched the car after he showed them a counterfeit Greek driving licence - only to find £5,000 worth of class A and B drugs in the vehicle.
Mike O’Sullivan, from the City of London Police, said: “Paci travelled to the UK illegally and had to pay a price by selling drugs on the streets of London and as a consequence will now serve time behind bars and eventually be deported back to Albania.
“I hope today’s excellent result serves a reminder to those engaged in this sort of criminality that the City remains a hostile environment for them.
“The City of London Police will continue to have more officers out on the streets to keep the Square Mile a safe place to live, work and visit.”
Paci pleaded guilty to supplying class A and B drugs and having a false driving licence at the Old Bailey.
He was jailed for three years and eight months and will be deported back to Albania after serving his sentence.
