Taxi driver and passenger smuggled cocaine into countyhttps://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news ... ne-county/A TAXI driver and his passenger have been jailed for drug trafficking after they were caught trying to discard a bag for life full of cocaine when stopped by police on the Cleddau Bridge.
Pajtim Meta and Albert Nikolla, both 26, were accused of trafficking cocaine between Northampton and Milford Haven.
Nikolla, of Plough Way in London, admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine and being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and on the day of trial admitted a separate offence – based in London – of cocaine possession on June 9, 2023.
Meta, of Ruskin Road in Northampton, denied all charges, but was found guilty of possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of cocaine after just 50 minutes of deliberations by the jury.
Prosecutor Caitlin Brazel told the court that Nikolla was arrested in London on June 9, 2023, after officers noticed him “slumped in the seat as if he didn’t want to be seen”.
Checks on his licence found he was a “person of interest” to immigration authorities, and a search of his car found a total of 37 wraps of cocaine, totalling 19 grams. These were estimated to have been worth between £1,110 and £1,850, Ms Brazel said.
The court heard that Meta’s taxi was stopped on January 18 last year in the area around the Cleddau Bridge as part of routine traffic checks being carried out by Dyfed-Powys Police.
When Meta stopped the vehicle, Nikolla bolted from the back seat, discarding a bag for life as he did so. Inside the bag was a 1,001 gram block of cocaine – which had an estimated value of £57,200 and £85,800 when sold in street deals.
Both Nikolla and Meta were arrested.
Meta originally told officers he was a taxi driver who did not know his co-defendant and had never been to Pembrokeshire before.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) checks showed Meta’s taxi had made nine trips from Northampton to Milford Haven.
When presented with this evidence, Meta admitted he had driven Nikolla on each of these occasions, and had previously lied “because he was scared” of a long prison sentence.
Matthew Murphy, for Nikolla, said the defendant had no previous convictions and was a trained veterinary surgeon in Albania, but had come to the UK illegally seeking a better quality of life.
He said that it “wasn’t Mr Nikolla’s intention” to become involved in drug dealing when he arrived in the UK, but had become involved through the same criminal organisation which had smuggled him into the country.
Llewellyn Culver-Evans, for Meta, said his client had been in the UK since 2018 and had worked legitimately as a taxi driver for the majority of that period.
He said that Meta, who was of previous good character before this offending, was not engaging in drug taking in prison and “demonstrated a real determination” to better himself.
Nikolla was sentenced to a total of four years and three months for both sets of offences, whilst Meta was jailed for five years.
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