An Albanian man who lived in Walsall has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a burglary ring that stole approximately £1 million worth of designer goods. Endrit Nikolli, 29, of Crabtree Road, was jailed for conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary at Chester Crown Court on April 29.
Nikolli is the latest member of the gang to be sentenced following a series of raids across Derbyshire, Cleveland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and West Mercia. Other gang members were sentenced earlier on April 13 and 14 at the same court.
Sentences for other gang members
Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, also of Crabtree Road, Walsall, received a nine-year sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary and a concurrent five-year term for conspiracy to possess criminal property. George Lleshaj, 31, of the same address, was jailed for nine years for conspiracy to commit burglary and a concurrent four-and-a-half-year term for conspiracy to possess criminal property. Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, of Durlstone Drive, Sheffield, received the longest sentence of 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of burglary, and conspiracy to possess criminal property, with an additional 15 burglary counts taken into consideration. Kristian Gropcaj, 30, of Gas Street, Birmingham, was jailed for 10 years for conspiracy to commit burglary and a concurrent five-and-a-half-year term for conspiracy to possess criminal property. Jade Tubb, 33, also of Crabtree Road, Walsall, received a one-year suspended sentence for possession of criminal property.
How the gang operated
The gang typically used ladders to access first-floor windows and balconies, then ransacked properties, stealing jewellery, designer handbags, watches, and cash. An investigation by the Neighbourhood Acquisitive Crime Team in Chesterfield began in October 2024 after a pattern of high-value burglaries was identified in Derbyshire. Investigators worked with neighbouring police forces and linked DNA evidence from a Staffordshire burglary to Nikolli. Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology also helped identify vehicles present at multiple crime scenes.
A red Ford Focus insured to Gropcaj was observed at many incidents, along with a hire car booked by Tubb. Phone records revealed frequent contact between Gropcaj, Nikolli, Dedndreaj, and Lleshaj, who also regularly met at a coffee shop in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. Tubb was in a relationship with Nikolli.
Raids and recovery of stolen goods
Raids on July 2 last year at addresses in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, and Birmingham led to the arrests of Nikolli, Lleshaj, Gropcaj, and Tubb. Dedndreaj was later arrested in Surrey. Officers recovered 13 designer handbags, 14 watches worth nearly £17,000, and several mobile phones containing hundreds of images of stolen items and messages with Google Maps links corresponding to burglary locations. Messages also revealed Lleshi was living in Sheffield; he was arrested on September 3 last year.
The five Albanian men were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to possess criminal property, pleading guilty at Chester Crown Court on November 28, 2025, and January 6, 2026. Nikolli and Lleshi also admitted additional burglary counts related to Staffordshire incidents in March 2024 and December 2023. Tubb pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess criminal property on January 7.
While many stolen items were sold, some have been recovered. Cheshire Police has launched an appeal to trace the rightful owners of hundreds of suspected stolen items, including designer handbags, jewellery, watches, and clothing. A full list and images are available online for people to fill in a form for the investigation team to review.
