The pair have been described as being “neighbours from hell” by Dorset residents who lived close to the siblings who are being prosecuted in Albania
A pair of Albanian brothers are accused of building a £335million drug empire out of a car wash in Bournemouth.
Klevis Hoxhosmani, 37, and his brother, Artur Hoxhosmani, 42, were part of one of Europe’s largest drug-smuggling networks, trafficking cocaine and using the money to fund their lavish lifestyle, according to prosecutors.
Both Klevis and Artur were arrested in August after spending their cash on a yacht, supercars and luxury apartments. At least 16 operatives are reported to be involved with the enterprise.
Neighbours who knew the brothers from their homes in Dorset have described them as “neighbours from hell”. The younger brother, Klevis, is also reportedly in a relationship with the daughter of a former Albanian minister, with the couple often flaunting their wealth on social media, including TikToks of grand trips to Dubai, Monaco and London.
Cocaine trafficked by the alleged criminal organisation was hidden in shipments of cocoa beans, bananas, and timber before being transported through European ports and overland routes using legitimate trucking companies, it’s been claimed.
They used the Hawala money transfer system, named after a centuries-old trust-based method of moving currency outside of banks, to avoid detection. This system was infiltrated by Albanian detectives in 2022.
The siblings boast a portfolio of opulent properties in Tirana, Albania’s capital, as well as spots along the booming Ionian coast and three Bournemouth-based businesses registered under Klevis Hoxhosmani with Companies House.
However, their alleged criminal empire is crashing down as Albania’s Special Structure against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) leads an investigation into the legitimacy of the siblings’ wealth, already seizing a yacht and a fleet of cars, including a Mercedes-Benz which sells for more than £140,000.
SPAK also claims to have taken possession of three pistols, two luxury watches, 16 mobile phones and 19 bank cards from the group.
Prosecutors in Albania alleged that the pan-European crime ring was responsible for a 250kg shipment of cocaine seized in France in April 2020, believed to be on its way to the UK.
The accused used encrypted messages on a platform known as ‘Sky ECC’, according to SPAK, reportedly posting their shock to the app when the lucrative narcotics shipment was intercepted.
Everyday goods such as bags of cocoa beans and boxes of bananas were used to hide the Class A drug with other shipments hiding them amongst deliveries of timber, prosecutors claim.
“Tonnes of narcotics were transported to ports in Belgium, the Netherlands or overland routes to France and the UK,” Albanian police contend, transported by unassuming lorry drivers employed by legitimate companies.
Klevis and Artur appeared in court in Tirana last month and have been remanded in custody while they await a full trial.
Eldest Artur came is understood to have come to the UK in 1999, with his younger brother following years later. A Daily Mail investigation suggests that, by 2013, they had settled in Bournemouth, where Klevis was listed as director of the Crystal Hand Carwash.
Klevis admitted to assaulting a woman a year later, in 2014, and was handed a community order and ordered to pay compensation.
Prosecutors working the case believe the pair relied upon several connections with corrupt port officials to traffic cocaine from Ecuador and Colombia through Antwerp, Rotterdam and French routes into the UK.
Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency are thought to be working alongside their Albanian counterparts as part of a Europe-wide crackdown.
Albanian prosecutors added: “This successful investigation led by SPAK is a direct result of close inter-institutional and international cooperation.”