IT was a sight so grisly that onlookers initially thought the bloodied body hanging from a sign at the side of the road was a Halloween decoration.
They were gripped with terror when they realised the figure hanging from a billboard was a real person.
InstagramShameless Albanian gangsters are terrorising the UK with ruthless new methods[/caption]
Albanian Bekim Halilaj, who flooded the UK with cocaine, was found hanging from a billboard in central Brussels
The shocking scene was reminiscent of executions seen in Mexico gangland feuds
Albanian Bekim Halilaj, 29, is believed to have been murdered by his paymasters after losing a consignment of drugs – eight years after flooding Southampton with £4million worth of cocaine.
Halilaj’s lifeless body was found tied to a road sign on a major ring road in Brussels last month.
Experts told The Sun how his callous killing is a sign of escalating violence among Albanian gangs who have adopted tactics used by Mexican cartels.
South American gangsters are known for engaging in savage ‘shock and awe’ tactics such as hanging victims, beheadings and torture.
Victims of Albanian gangsters in the UK have been tortured, burned in cars, had their fingernails pulled out and simply vanished.
Ervin Karamuco, professor of criminology at Tirana state university in Albania, said Mexican assassins have become ‘consultants’ to the country’s leading gangsters.
He said: “Mexican cartel ‘schools’ of torture and lethal violence have become a blueprint for criminal networks, an extremely effective tool for imposing authority, terror and control over the drug trade.
“Instructors from the infamous Mexican training camps for sicarios (killers) now serve as consultants to allied groups that hire their ‘expertise’.
“Each year, these tactics are painstakingly adopted by Albanian criminal outfits that work with the cartels.
“The result? Police investigations grow far harder – these techniques are highly sophisticated and leave almost no trace.
“It’s well-established that Albanian so-called ‘ambassadors’ are staying in Latin America, not for tourism but to strike deals directly with the cartels.”
Bekim Halilaj was part of an organised crime gang that smuggled more than £4million of coke through Southampton. He was jailed for seven years in 2017 for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, along with three associates.
Southampton Crown Court heard that the cocaine, brought in from dealers in Essex, was of high quality, in some cases 91 per cent pure.
Albanian mobsters frequently flaunt their ill-gotten wealth on social media
They brazenly show off their cash and weapons
Halilaj was deported back home after his sentence but later moved to Belgium, where the authorities have launched an investigation into his death.
A source told Belgium news outlet RTL: “Halilaj was kidnapped, executed and hanged as a warning after the loss of a large drug shipment, with the clear message: ‘This is what happens if you try to harm us.’”
Decapitated heads on dance floor
It’s not the first time Albanian gangs have employed techniques used by Mexican cartels.
South Americans have become numb to the sight of bodies hanging from bridges, which has been a regular occurrence since the early 2000s.
Decapitated heads were once thrown on to a dance floor, body parts have been found stored in freezers and burnt-out cars and on-the-spot executions are commonplace.
The most infamous of Mexico’s gangs is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which recruits impoverished kids as young as 15 and forces them to eat human flesh and hearts as part of a sick initiation ceremony.
In Britain, an Albanian gang kidnapped a fellow countryman and demanded £400,000 from relatives, torturing him and removing his fingernails.
The 30-year-old was held hostage for four days in a dispute over cannabis houses in East London in 2022.
He was freed when police stormed the house and five men and a woman were charged with kidnapping and threats to kill, but the case later collapsed when a key witness withdrew evidence at Harrow Crown Court.
Just one defendant was convicted in relation to the cannabis house operation. Nekid Arapi, 26, known as Kid Vlonjati, was given 16 months for possession for attempted sale of class B drugs.
Halilaj was kidnapped, executed and hanged as a warning after the loss of a large drug shipment, with the clear message: ‘This is what happens if you try to harm us.’
A source
Albanian cops said at the time: “The kidnapped man was beaten badly and his nails have been removed from his fingers.”
Gangsters meted out their own retribution when Arben Lleshi was jailed for a minimum of 32 years for killing an Albanian drug dealer.
Agim Hoxha, 27, was discovered in a burnt out car near Southampton in April 2012.
X/michelleriveraaAlleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, whose brutal tactics are now spreading to Europe[/caption]
APForensic experts excavate a cartel ‘extermination site’ where burned human remains were found buried[/caption]
ReutersInsiders warn Mexican assassins are schooling Albanian gangsters in their ‘shock and awe’ tactics[/caption]
Police believe he was killed at a flat in the city before his body was set on fire in a Mercedes Benz, dumped in the nearby village of Chilworth.
Winchester Crown Court heard how cops discovered victim Hoxha was a drug dealer after finding £42,000 cash hidden in one of his two cars after his death.
Killer Lleshi, 27, was extradited to Albania to serve the rest of his jail sentence in 2016 but two years ago he was shot dead inside Peqin Prison, which hosts some of Albania’s most dangerous men.
An insider said: “There’s no doubt the shooting was linked to Lleshi’s criminal activities abroad.”
Unsolved disappearances
Agim Hoxha was discovered in a burnt out car near Southampton in April 2012
Killer Arben lLeshi was extradited to Albania to serve the rest of his jail sentence – only to be shot dead himself
Metropolitan PoliceAron Kato was allegedly kidnapped and murdered for his involvement in the robbery of a cannabis farm run by an Albanian gang[/caption]
In another case, CCTV footage showed 28-year-old Aron Kato being chased and pushed to the ground in Ilford, east London. Police say he was then bundled into a dark BMW.
His 2019 disappearance has never been solved.
Insiders claim he was kidnapped and possibly murdered for his involvement in the robbery of a cannabis farm run by an Albanian gang.
A chilling TikTok video posted in May suggests that Aron’s friends kidnapped an Albanian and threatened him in an act of revenge.
Entitled Aaron (sic) Kato is now missing, it shows two masked men tapping their victim on the head with a knife before demanding he give his name.
It is followed by a rap about Aron and how his girlfriend had just given birth to a newborn son. A second related video, with the same rap, suggests the abducted man is a ‘gardener’ – someone who is employed to look after plants at a cannabis house.
Albanian veteran journalist Artan Hoxha, no relation to victim Agim, said the Belgium murder showed just how far gangsters are now willing to go.
He said: “It’s unbelievable that, in the heart of Europe, we are seeing incidents carried out like those committed by Mexican cartels.
“This shows the frightening lengths Albanian organised crime is ready to take.”