Thank you for subscribing!

Urim Morina was found to have lived a 'law-abiding life' and to have a 'strong work ethic' as he was spared jail by the court

An Albanian drug dealer has been spared jail after a judge took into account his partner’s depression and chronic pain, as well as overcrowding in Britain’s prisons.

Urim Morina, 27, entered the country 10 years ago under a false identity and pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine through a county lines gang between September 2024 to March 2026 and possessing a document in a false name.

He would receive two separate prison sentences totalling two years and four months, but would have it suspended for three years by Judge James Bromige at Winchester Crown Court, citing new Government guidance to prevent a prison overcrowding crisis.

He said "authorities refer to the need for deterrent sentences" but guidelines - which came into effect in March - have allowed him to give the drug dealer a suspended sentence.

The new guidelines allow judges now to suspend sentences for up to three years, up from two.

The decision to spare the Albanian man jail was influenced by the fact it would negatively impact his partner, who suffers from depression and fibromyalgia, a chronic pain and fatigue condition.

The drug dealer cooked and cleaned for his family and took his wife to medical appointments, the court heard.

Morina was arrested in March in connection with a county lines gang.

Officers raiding his home found a phone which showed he operated the "Gabby line" and had supplied cocaine to drug users over an 18-month period.

Police also found a UK certificate of travel for a man named Valon Binaj, which expired in 2025.

With the document was a letter to the Home Office written by an immigration barrister in 2025, informing the Government his identity was false.

Certificates of travel are official international travel documents issued by the Home Office to non-Britons who cannot get a passport from their home countries.

Morina wrote to the Home Office to change his identity, but it remains unclear if the department actioned this.

LATEST CRIME NEWS:

The court heard how Morina entered Britain as Binah on March 12, 2016.

Mr Brominge said: "It's perhaps still unclear why you ever needed a false identity. It may be because you were aged 16 and you wanted to be aged 15 at the time."

Mahesh Karu, mitigating, said Morina had received BTECs, GCSEs and "various professional qualifications" and had not committed any other offences.

He argued the offences warranted a "moderate sentence in this day and age" and Morina would be "best served" with a community order.

The judge said Morina had a "strong work ethic" and lived a "law-abiding life" other than his illegal entry and had come to drug dealing "through naivety".

Morina's sentence for supplying cocaine was three years and nine months' imprisonment, but after taking into account his previous good character, his remorse and strong work ethic, it was reduced to two years.

This was then suspended as the Albanian was ordered to complete 175 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation days.

The Ministry of Justice told The Times: "Sentencing decisions are made by independent judges, but our message is clear — prison will always remain the place for dangerous offenders.

"We inherited prisons on the brink of collapse and are pulling every lever possible to fix this including building 14,000 new places. Where a custodial sentence is not imposed, offenders can face our toughest-ever range of controls including world-first restriction zones, the largest expansion of electronic tagging, and face being put behind bars if they break the rules."

The Home Office said: "We will always check previous and new names against law enforcement records and will firmly refuse individuals who are committing fraud or evading detection."