R v Blendi Aliaj

Facts

The appellant, Blendi Aliaj, was a man of 34 and of previous good character who had come to the UK some six years earlier and worked in the construction industry doing groundwork. The work was well paid but periodical, and his last contract ended in January 2026. He began to gamble out of boredom, amassed significant debts, borrowed from illicit sources and, unable to repay, agreed to act as a drugs courier to settle the debt; he had no substance abuse issues of his own. On 14 March his vehicle was stopped by police, who found £410 in cash in the centre console, a mobile telephone bearing messages consistent with his acting under direction as a courier, and, in a concealed compartment within a water bottle itself hidden in a concealed compartment in the car, 13 snap bags of cocaine amounting to around 6 grams and two snap bags of ketamine amounting to just over 2 grams. On 13 April 2026, at the plea and trial preparation hearing in the Crown Court at Inner London, he pleaded guilty to possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply and possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply. HHJ Boyle sentenced him to 27 months' imprisonment on count 1 and 3 months concurrently on count 2. He appealed against sentence by leave of the Single Judge.