Close to 200 of Albania’s most dangerous criminals held in UK cells are to be sent home.
Seventeen “lifers” are among the first to be deported.
The list will likely include Koci Selamaj who murdered Sabina Nessa.
He has served two years of a 36-year-old sentence.
The numbers include killers, gangsters, and drug warlords.
They will serve the rest of their sentences in their home country.
The UK Government is paying for the multi-million pounds scheme to go ahead.
The move follows months of secret negotiations between Ministry of Justice (MoJ) officials in both countries.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak first discussed the plan with Albania’s PM Edi Rama in March.
Albanians account for the largest number of foreign inmates in prisons in England and Wales, with 1,336 held behind bars in the UK at the end of last year.
Only Albanians jailed for more than four years will be eligible for the prison transfer scheme.
An MoJ spokesman said:
“The Government continues to work closely with the Albanian Government, including on the removal of Albanian offenders through the Prisoner Transfer Agreement.”
