A detective involved in a Brislington murder case, which saw one man fatally stabbed over a cannabis crop, has vowed to "stamp out" the kinds of "extreme violence" seen in the attack. Four men were jailed for more than 45 years between them after Aranit Lleshi, 32, was fatally stabbed in a knife fight over the drug crop.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, told BristolLive he hoped the sentencing issued on Friday (April 21) at Bristol Crown Court, sent a 'strong message' to offenders involved in similar criminal activity that the city is 'not prepared to accept it'. The stabbing in May last year prompted police to call a critical incident.
The judge, The Honourable Mr Justice Saini, said a group attempted to steal a cannabis crop, grown in Bloomfield Road, from another group. The groups came from the Albanian community, he said, but did not know each other. A substantial knife fight followed in which Aranit Lleshi suffered fatal injuries and others were also hurt.
Four men were sentenced today after being convicted for their involvement in the incident. They are:
- Brikel Palaj, 33, of Heavitree Road, Plumstead, London (convicted of murder, life with minimum 20 years)
- Radian Lika, 36, of Watkinson Court, Islington, London (convicted of murder, life with minimum 20 years )
- Nikola Palaj, 29, also of Heavitree Road (convicted of manslaughter, five years)
- Kastriot Mhillaj, 35, of no fixed abode (pleaded guilty to violent disorder, 18 weeks)
Speaking outside of Bristol Crown Court following the sentencing DCI Walker said: "I hope it sends a strong message to those involved in this type of criminality that we're not prepared to accept it. It's the violence we've seen, the extreme levels of violence - two groups from outside of Bristol, isolated incident - in that respect, they've come here to fight over drugs. We want to stamp that out.
"We want to work with communities to help us identify where cannabis factories are so we can stop the organised crime groups from reaching these levels of violence that we've seen in this case."
Today the court heard a short statement from the family of the murder victim. His mum and dad "died inside" after the loss of their son, they said, and they hoped other people would not go through the same ordeal. Following the hearing, DCI Walker expressed sympathies for the victim's family "who’ve been left devastated by his death." He also expressed gratitude to the witnessed concerned in the case.
"We’d like to express our continuing sympathies to the family of the victim, who’ve been left devastated by his death, and want to reiterate our thanks to all the witnesses who provided statements and evidence in this case – their assistance has ultimately helped us bring these dangerous men to justice," he said.
DCI Waker reiterated: "We've heard from the witnesses, they've been really brave in helping us in coming forward and we've heard about the levels of violence that they've seen and the noises of screaming in the streets. It's a quiet, residential area and it must have been incredibly frightening for them."
"It's very tragic," DCI Walker said. "Our condolences to his family of course, and it's hopefully, you know, this sentence today to stop people getting involved in those levels of violence. It's not worth it. Someone's lost their life in a fight over drugs and it's not acceptable."
While DCI Walker explained that drugs crime can lead to violence over disputes over money. "There's money at risk, there's money at stake and they're trying to make money all the time and they're not prepared to stop at any cost," he said.
"It’s tragic a young man lost his life during this clash between two organised crime groups over a cannabis factory," DCI Walker said, following the hearing. "Both groups were from the London area and targeted a quiet south Bristol neighbourhood to engage in wanton violence with weapons, witnessed by those who live there as well as passers-by.
"There’s often organised criminality behind the production of cannabis and we know these groups are using residential houses in street like this in the hope they can ply their exploitative trade under the radar. It’s crucial for members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicions around drug activity in their neighbourhood to the police."
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