- Arben Dumani was 10 when he escaped worn-torn Kosovo with his family
- He was interviewed by the media about starting a new life in Glasgow
- But 13 years on, it has emerged he is the boss of a drugs smuggling gang
- Dumani, now 23, was jailed for 12 years at the Glasgow High Court
- Gang members Albert Memia, Fabion Ponari, and Gjeorgj Pjetri, also jailed
He came to Britain as a ten-year-old schoolboy, escaping his war-torn Kosovan homeland to a promising future in a safe new home.
But yesterday, 13 years after arriving, child refugee poster boy Arben Dumani was unmasked as the boss of a drugs gang behind a plot to flood the country that gave him refuge with £1.2m of cocaine.
Unrepentant Dumani stood in the dock as prosecutors described a drug dealing enterprise involving him and with his three henchmen as on a ‘virtually industrial scale’.
Jailed: Kosovan refugee Arben Dumani, 23, became the boss of a gang plotting to smuggle drugs into the UK - just 13 years after being granted refuge to live in the country
During a dawn raid on a safe house in Glasgow last year, officers seized over 2kg of the Class A drug and substances and equipment used to bulk out the pure drugs.
The mob helped bring about their own downfall by taking mobile phone photos of themselves snorting cocaine laid out to spell their names.
The four – all originally from Eastern Europe – were sentenced to a total of 30 years and six months at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.
Detective Chief Superintendent Athol Aitken said: ‘This serious organised crime group, led by Arben Dumani, was involved in the importation of cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.2million.
‘This was a significant quantity of drugs that would have caused untold harm to Scottish communities and I welcome the court result which will ensure the individuals involved are held accountable for their crimes.’
Dumani was just 10 when he and his relatives escaped the horrors of their Kosovan homeland for a new life in Glasgow.
Gang members: Gjeorgj Pjetri, 30, from Kosovo, pictured left, and Albert Memia, 25, from Albania, pictured right, were also jailed
Caught red-handed: The gang helped bring about their own prosecutions by taking pictures of themselves snorting cocaine. Dumani's right-hand man Albert Memia, 25, can be seen in this image. He was jailed for 10 years at Glasgow High Court for supplying cocaine
In 1999, it was reported how he and six other child refugees started their first day at their new school in the city’s west end.
Young Dumani - speaking through an interpreter - said at the time: ‘It was good - we played football and met a lot of new friends.
‘I drew pictures of houses and I am learning the days of the week in English. It was interesting and I was happy.’
Albania refugee Aida Dumani and her brother Arben Dumani in 1999 in Glasgow, Scotland
Wealthy dealer Arben Dumani, came to Britain as a ten-year-old schoolboy, is pictured on a jetski
But yesterday, the 23-year-old was locked up for 12 years after he was convicted of being concerned in the supply of cocaine after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
His right hand man Albert Memia, 25, was sentenced to 10 years after he pleaded guilty to the same charge.
Couriers Fabion Ponari, 23, and Gjeorgj Pjetri, 28, were locked up for five years and three and a half years respectively.
Judge Michael O’Grady QC said to Dumani and Memia: ‘This operation that you two were an integral part of was exceptional in its planning, sophistication and scope.
‘You were responsible for physically setting up a drug processing plant and responsible for processing and intending to distribute class A drugs.’
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