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Albanian gangs are transporting cocaine to British cities faster than Deliveroo drivers deliver takeaways, a shocking new investigation has revealed. Journalists have documented the rise of gangsters known as “Albos” in major British cities. Investigators have found dealers willing to deliver product to their paying customers in Brighton 24/7, with a network of “operatives” handling cocaine distribution.

The investigation conducted by the Daily Mail identified “bottom of the chain” members working in Brighton and Hove relaxing in the city streets.

The members, who are occasionally accompanied by “assistant managers” within the organisation, reportedly distribute imported supplies from Ecuador, where the Balkan Mafia has a foothold.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK’s equivalent of the American FBI, believes Albanian networks now control the drug’s £2 billion domestic market.

A local man in his 30s going by Oliver, an alias, said the operation delivers cocaine “quicker than getting a pizza on Deliveroo”.

He told the Mail that when he was using the drug, he would ring “my Albanian”, provide a postcode and receive his order “in five minutes” at his front door.

Oliver claimed the dealers bargain with customers, offering a 0.4g pack for £40, charging £70 for two, and £100 for three.

A source with more intimate knowledge of the operation said that while it brings a significant return for higher-up members, it takes a toll on those working on the lower rungs.

They said the “higher up in the business you go”, more members wear designer clothes, while lower down members “may be underweight and not wearing nice clothes”.

He said they are “staying awake 24 hours a day” to make drug deliveries as they don’t “turn off”.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), drug misuse in the UK remains a significant issue.

The organisation’s 2022 survey found that one in five adults aged 16 to 24 used drugs in the year ending that June.

Of the approximately 18.6 percent who use drugs, nearly a quarter were cocaine users.

The organisation estimated that four percent of people aged 16 to 24 used powder cocaine.

Usage was primarily in the younger population, with half as many adults aged 16 to 59 using the drug.

The estimates showed no change in the number of users compared to 2021 but a surge on 1995, when officials made their first estimates.

The year’s numbers came with some positive developments, as the ONS found a “significant decrease” in overall Class A drug use from March 2020, with the percentage of users dropping to 2.7 percent and 4.7 percent among those age brackets compared to 3.4 percent and 7.4 percent two years prior.

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