An Albanian drug dealer has been spared jail by a UK court because of his partner's depression and chronic pain. Urim Morina, 27, pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine through a county lines gang between September 2024 and March 2026 and possessing a document in a false name.
Winchester Crown Court heard how he entered Britain under a false identity on March 12, 2016. He was handed two separate prison sentences totalling two years and four months, but Judge James Bromige suspended the sentences for three years. He cited new Government guidance that allows judges to suspend sentences for up to three years to reduce prison overcrowding. The judge also said the decision was influenced by the fact that jailing him would impact his partner, who suffers from depression and fibromyalgia, a chronic pain and fatigue condition.
It was heard how Morina cooked and cleaned for his family, and took his wife to her medical appointments. Mahesh Karu, mitigating, also argued the drug dealer had received various qualifications and lived a "law-abiding life" other than his illegal entry to the UK and his drug dealing.
Police officers raided Morina's home, where they found evidence that he operated the "Gabby line". Text messages revealed he had sold cocaine over an 18-month period.
They also found a UK travel certificate for a man named Valon Binaj, which expired in 2025, as well as a letter to the Home Office stating that his identity was false. It remains unclear whether the department has since changed his official identity in their records.
Mr Bromige said: "It's perhaps still unclear why you ever needed a false identity. It may be because you were aged 16 and you wanted to be aged 15 at the time."
Morina's sentence for supplying cocaine was three years and nine months' imprisonment. However, this was reduced to just two years as the judge took into account his previous good character, remorse and strong work ethic.
This was then suspended as the Albanian was ordered to complete 175 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation days.
The Ministry of Justice said: "Sentencing decisions are made by independent judges, but our message is clear — prison will always remain the place for dangerous offenders.
"We inherited prisons on the brink of collapse and are pulling every lever possible to fix this, including building 14,000 new places. Where a custodial sentence is not imposed, offenders can face our toughest-ever range of controls, including world-first restriction zones, the largest expansion of electronic tagging, and face being put behind bars if they break the rules."
The Home Office said: "We will always check previous and new names against law enforcement records and will firmly refuse individuals who are committing fraud or evading detection."