EXCLUSIVE Albanian armed robber who was sent home after using a fake name to get UK passport is back in Britain
- Asim Murtati was involved in a bus ambush in Albania before fleeing to the UK
An Albanian armed robber who was deported after using a fake name to obtain a British passport while on the run is back in the country.
Asim Murtati, 46, was involved in the ambush of a minibus in Albania before fleeing to the UK where he gave a different surname to border guards and claimed he was a Kosovan refugee.
He went on to gain citizenship under the pseudonym and have three daughters, despite having been sentenced in absentia in his homeland.
Authorities finally caught and deported Murtati to serve his 11-year sentence in 2009.
But he was released after just six years and returned to Britain where it seems he simply renewed his old British passport.
Asim Murtati, 46, was involved in the ambush of a minibus in Albania before fleeing to the UK where he gave a different surname to border guards and claimed he was a Kosovan refugee
The Daily Mail has established that Murtati has travelled in the past using the fraudulent document, which was not cancelled when he was deported.
However, it is understood that the Home Office has now revoked the passport. Murtati has launched a legal challenge against the decision.
Murtati also registered a business under his fake name and has grown so brazen he recently transferred it to his real name.
He appears to be living in a semi-detached property in Northampton worth more than £350,000 with two of his daughters.
The Mail confronted him at his home where he initially tried to deny he had been deported before asking our reporter to leave.
Asked how he returned to the UK, he said: ‘That’s wrong, mate. You’ve got it wrong.’
He blamed his conviction on ‘Albanian politics’ before falsely claiming he chose to return home, stating: ‘I didn’t serve the sentence because I’m not guilty.’
But Albanian court documents show he was deported on January 16, 2009, and was imprisoned until his release on January 13, 2015.
It is not clear whether Murtati returned to the UK legally after serving his sentence in Albania. When pressed on this, he refused to answer.
Local Tory MP Andrea Leadsom said: ‘I am extremely concerned about this. I expect the Home Office to look into it as a matter of urgency.’
Local Tory MP Andrea Leadsom said: ‘I am extremely concerned about this. I expect the Home Office to look into it as a matter of urgency’
In November 1997, Murtati and four other Albanians ambushed a minibus, with one firing a machine gun to stop the driver before they boarded and robbed everyone inside.
A warrant was issued for his arrest but he fled and was convicted in absentia 12 months after the crime.
However, Murtati simply claimed he was a Kosovan fleeing the war to gain asylum and then indefinite leave to remain in Britain.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, said: ‘It’s another clear indication the system is shattered. Sadly, there’s little evidence Rishi Sunak’s Government is up to the task.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We do not routinely comment on individual cases.’
