Albanian drug dealer jailed and facing deportation after Cambridgeshire police find cocaine stuffed in a roll-on deodorant

An Albanian drug dealer who operated across Cambridgeshire has been jailed for more than three years and will be deported after police found packages of cocaine stuffed in a deodorant.

Ision Kurtzmalaj was stopped in Sawston High Street in November 2022 by neighbourhood police officers who recognised that the grey Audi he was driving was being linked to organised crime.

They found 25 packages of cocaine hidden inside a roll-on deodorant and £190 stashed in the sun visor.

Kurtzmalaj told police he lived in London, but when police found that the vehicle was registered to an address in Great North Road, Eaton Socon, they visited and found evidence of him living there, along with £405 in cash and 34 more bags of cocaine.

Kurtzmalaj, 21, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court last Thursday to three years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

After serving his sentence, he will be deported back to Albania.

PC Will Lovell, from the neighbourhood support team, said: “We believe Kurtzmalaj was part of an organised crime group which sees Albanian men come over to the UK to deal class A drugs.

“We’re working daily to target those who come to Cambridgeshire to deal drugs. Members of the public can help us by reporting suspicious activity. This could include vehicles coming and going, especially at night, and different people arriving at a property near you.

“No matter how insignificant it may seem, we want to know so we can build up a picture of what is happening.”