Albanian Gangs Putting Illegal Immigrants to Work in UK Cannabis Farms, Says NCA

A group of illegal immigrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the English Channel, on Sept. 22, 2022. Gareth Fuller/PA Media

The UK’s National Crime Agency says Albanian gangs are bringing illegal immigrants across the English Channel, coaching them on what to say to the UK Border Force, and then putting them to work in cannabis farms.

Ged McCann, a senior NCA intelligence manager, told a briefing of journalists on Tuesday that Albanian gangs were working with Iraqi Kurd people-trafficking syndicates and were “effectively bringing in the labour force for the cannabis grows.”