Terrifying arsenal of weapons bound for UK-based Albanian gangsters is found in Brit-registered van

Police have arrested a man after a terrifying arsenal of weapons bound for UK-based Albanian gangsters was found in a van.

Six Glock pistols, a Browning and a Helstar handgun were discovered concealed in a van with UK plates along with more than 200 rounds of ammunition.

The shock find will raise fears that Albanian gangsters based in the UK are upping their game in a bid to seize control through fear of lucrative drug markets across the country.

Officials in the Albanian port of Durres found the guns using a hi-tech scanner and are thought to have been acting on intelligence from British police.

The van – a white Mercedes van registered in the UK – was due to have been driven onto the ferry linking Durres with the Italian port of Brindisi, a two day drive from the UK.

Police have arrested a man after a terrifying arsenal of weapons bound for UK based Albanian gangsters was found on a van

The van – a white Mercedes van (pictured) registered in the UK – was due to have been driven onto the ferry linking Durres with the Italian port of Brindisi

Six Glock pistols, a Browning and a Helstar handgun were discovered concealed in a van with UK plates along with more than 200 rounds of ammunition

Albanian media identified the driver as Jermir Kaloshi, who has since told officers he had no idea he was carrying a consignment of guns.

He said:’ I’m just a driver. We drive from Kosovo to England, where we serve as a post office.

‘We receive packages from Kosovo and taken them to England and receive packages from people there and take them to Kosovo, usually furniture.

‘I didn’t know there was a gun in there, if I did I wouldn’t have taken it. It’s my fault, I should have checked but I didn’t know what was inside.’

Officials at the Albanian Police Special Investigations Unit (SPAK) have told MailOnline the weapons were bought in Serbia and bound for Albanian gangs in London and have given British police a Luton address to look at.

A spokesman told MailOnline: ‘At this stage of the investigation information stored in the mobile phone of the driver which has a UK SIM card is being investigated and it is crucial to find the other people involved.

‘The driver has so far denied all knowledge of the guns saying he was taking food and furniture to the UK. This is an ongoing investigation involving law enforcement agencies from several countries.’

Violent gangs from Albania have taken over the drug trade in Britain since they began moving into the country after the fall of Communism in 1990.

Officials in the Albanian port of Durres found the guns using a hi-tech scanner. Pictured: The van being scanned by Albanian police

Officials at the Albanian Police Special Investigations Unit (SPAK) have told MailOnline the weapons were bought in Serbia and bound for Albanian gangs in London

Violent gangs from Albania have taken over the drug trade in Britain since they began moving into the country after the fall of Communism in 1990

Among them is the ruthless Hellbanianz gang, who are based in Barking, east London and who regularly post images of themselves surrounded by drugs, cash, guns and luxury cars online as they boast of their criminal empire.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) reported last year that the Albanian mafia have in recent years ‘imported expertise gained from industrial-scale cannabis farming in their home country to the UK’ and they also control the country’s cocaine market.

The UK government has shown a huge interest on the security of Durres port and this emerged in a large cache of leaked documents, allegedly hacked by the Iranians, and marked ‘sensitive’.

They were posted onto the encrypted Telegram channel and reveal confidential negotiations between Britain and Albania over measures to tackle crime gangs and illegal immigration in and out of the port of Durres.

The internal documents published on the Telegram channel include email correspondence in February 2022 between Gledis Nano, Albania’s then director of police, and Alastair King-Smith, the UK ambassador to Albania.

Albanian police also used dogs to rifle through items found in the British-based Mercedes van loaded with weapons

The Albanian Police Special Investigations Unit told MailOnline that the driver has so far denied all knowledge of the guns saying he was taking food and furniture to the UK

It is among a cache of 1,400 hacked and leaked emails involving Mr Nano. In one email, the police chief thanks Mr King-Smith for his help, stressing that ‘indeed we need your support now and in the future for our joint efforts against organised crime’.

It reveals that Border Force proposes to deploy officers to Albania to help ‘scope’ plans for a major expansion of ports in Albania and to advise on security measures that could be taken to combat illegal immigration and the import of cocaine into Europe by organised crime gangs.

The memo, revealed in the leak, shows the Border Force role will focus on the Albanian ports of Durres and Porto Romano to ‘assess the container traffic, Ro/Ro, passengers, port and law enforcement IT systems, and the current operational capabilities that exist within the port’.