NEWS STORY : UK Bolsters Crackdown on Western Balkans Smuggling Gangs as Starmer Visits Albania
STORY
On the first ever official visit by a British Prime Minister to Albania, Keir Starmer today announced a major expansion of the Joint Migration Task Force aimed at dismantling organised people-smuggling networks across the Western Balkans. The task force which is now to include Kosovo, North Macedonia and progressing talks with Montenegro will pool UK intelligence with local law enforcement and deploy UK-funded drones to intercept migrants upstream before they attempt the perilous Channel crossing.
Starmer toured the Port of Durrës to witness “upstream” operations credited with a 95 percent drop in small-boat arrivals from Albania over the past three years, and a doubling of returns—from 2,035 Albanian nationals in 2022 to 5,294 in 2024. He stressed that the government’s new Immigration White Paper underpins this “intercept and deter” strategy, and pledged to reinforce border checks with additional forgery-detection machines donated to the Albanian State Police.
The Prime Minister also revealed a fresh £1 million UK investment to upgrade Albania’s forensics, biometrics and digital capabilities, including a joint DNA-swabbing programme. Since its rollout, the initiative has generated 1,000 hits on UK databases and led to the arrest of 55 serious offenders—ranging from murderers to rapists—thanks to enhanced cross-border cooperation. Beyond migration, Starmer and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will build on a broader strategic partnership encompassing defence, security and economic growth. Tomorrow, Starmer convenes a roundtable at the European Political Community summit, aiming to harness regional collaboration against shared challenges such as foreign interference and organised crime.
