Booted out at last: Sent packing back to Albania, the double murderer who claimed it was his human right to live in Britain

  • Notorious double murderer Avni Metra, 54, extradited to his native Albania
  • Metra fled to Britain in 1998 after the brutal murder of two brothers
  • Living in Britain for nearly two decades, Metra claimed to be a Kosovan refugee
  • He was returned to Albania this week after the High Court  threw out his claim that his human rights would be breached if extradited

Brutal double murderer, Avni Metra, 54, from Albania, who lived in Britain for nearly 20 years has been finally extradited following an investigation by the Mail last summer

Brutal double murderer, Avni Metra, 54, from Albania, who lived in Britain for nearly 20 years has been finally extradited following an investigation by the Mail last summer

A notorious Albanian double killer has been booted out of the UK eight months after he was exposed by the Daily Mail.

Bogus Kosovan refugee Avni Metra, 54, was extradited back to his native country after living here freely for nearly two decades.

He was returned to Albania earlier this week after the High Court in London threw out the fugitive’s 11th hour bid to stay in Britain.

Three Interpol officers escorted him on a commercial flight to Tirana because he was considered ‘so dangerous’, sources said.

A picture of him behind bars in Albania this week was released by the authorities.

Metra, who fled to Britain in 1998 - a year after the brutal murder of two brothers in his home country – had argued that his human rights would be breached if he was extradited.

But his legal claim was rejected by the Appeal Court and officials moved swiftly to kick him out of the country.

Metra is the first of three Albanian murderers exposed by the Mail last summer to be returned home.

Last night the Home Office said it is making efforts to strip him of British citizenship, which he was awarded after lying about his true identity while on the run from Albanian police.

Metra, who fled to Britain in 1998 - a year after the brutal murder of two brothers in his home country – had argued that his human rights would be breached if he was extradited
Former gangster Metra, who gouged out the eyes and sliced off the ears of one of his victims, was detained by Scotland Yard in June last year following a tip-off from the Mail

Metra, who fled to Britain in 1998 - a year after the brutal murder of two brothers in his home country – had argued that his human rights would be breached if he was extradited

Former gangster Metra, who gouged out the eyes and sliced off the ears of one of his victims, was detained by Scotland Yard in June last year following a tip-off from the Mail.

At the time of his arrest, he had been a fugitive for 19 years and was on Interpol’s ‘Most Wanted’ list.

Our extensive, international investigation into his disappearance led us to his Home Counties bolthole.

As he was confronted about his real identity, his right hand was poised menacingly next to two knives.

Detectives had no idea where Metra was and had made little attempt to find him even though he was one of Albania’s most notorious murder fugitives and had been arrested in London for wife-beating.

After going on the run from Albania in the late 1990s, Metra was sentenced to 25 years in prison in his absence.

Following his belated arrest, he made a desperate, state-funded bid to stay in the UK, arguing he would not get a fair trial back home.

He told an extradition hearing last summer: ‘There is no justice in Albania. There is only corruption.’

The labourer, who claimed he had fled his native country because his life was in danger after a friend was killed, also argued that he had a right to a private and personal life in the UK.

But district judge Margot Coleman ruled at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in August that he could be extradited, saying: ‘It’s right that you have lived here for some time and that you have a wife and children.

‘But your living here, your life in this country, is based on a lie.’

Metra was detained on June 8 as he drove through Watford. At the time of his arrest he was living in a dingy bedsit in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Metra's extradition made headline news in Albania

At the time of his arrest Metra had been a fugitive for 19 years and was on Interpol’s ‘Most Wanted’ list. When Metra was confronted about his real identity, his right hand was poised menacingly next to two knives

After last summer’s extradition ruling, his case was sent to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who authorised his removal from the UK.

But Metra, who had been living on benefits, sought leave to appeal against extradition.

His move was rejected and his extradition back to Albania earlier this week was headline news there.

Barci’s ex-wife Linda Lami, 38, who lives in the London area, welcomed news of his extradition.

The Albanian mother – who has told of the appalling violence at the hands of Metra during their 14 year marriage – told the Mail: ‘He should be in prison for a long time. But I am concerned he might be able to buy himself out of jail in Albania, and take revenge on those who helped put him behind bars.’

The Home Office said last night: ‘On 6 October 2016, the Secretary of State, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Avni Metra’s extradition to Albania.

Following his belated arrest, he made a desperate, state-funded bid to stay in the UK, arguing he would not get a fair trial back home
After last summer’s extradition ruling, his case was sent to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who authorised his removal from the UK

Following his belated arrest, he made a desperate, state-funded bid to stay in the UK, arguing he would not get a fair trial back home. A picture of him behind bars in Albania this week was released by the authorities (right)

‘Mr Metra has been convicted of two counts of murder and the illegal possession of firearms.

‘Mr Metra was extradited on 21 February 2017 after the High Court refused to grant him leave to appeal against the decision of the district judge to send the case to the Secretary of State.

‘We are seeking to strip him of his British citizenship.’

Metra was one of three UK-based Albanian murderers exposed by the Mail in a series of explosive articles last summer which caused huge embarrassment at the Home Office.

In July, a judge ruled that a one-legged Albanian double killer - whose shocking story was revealed in this newspaper in May - should be extradited to face justice in his home country.

Saliman Barci, 41, ‘deliberately misled’ UK immigration authorities with a false alias and passport after gunning down two men in northern Albania in 1997.

The drug dealer, who posed as a Kosovan asylum seeker to gain British citizenship while on the run from police, had been living on benefits in the UK for 14 years when his true identity was exposed.

Metra was extradited on February 21 after the High Court refused to grant him leave to appeal against the decision of the district judge to send the case to the Secretary of State

Metra was extradited on February 21 after the High Court refused to grant him leave to appeal against the decision of the district judge to send the case to the Secretary of State

While on the run, Barci received a 25-year sentence in his absence for two horrific murders in Albania in the 1990s.

At the Appeal Court in London earlier this week, the father of three’s barrister made a last ditch bitch to block his extradition - on human rights grounds. A ruling on his case is due in the coming weeks.

A third Albanian murderer exposed by the Mail is back on streets just months after we exposed the scandal of his case.

In June this newspaper revealed that Ardian Rragami, 45, had returned to Britain four years after being forcibly sent home to serve a 15-year sentence for murder.

Within hours of the Home Office being asked to account for his presence here, immigration enforcement officers detained him at his home in Essex pending deportation.

But in November we disclosed how Rragami had been granted bail as he appeals against the decision to boot him out of the UK a second time.

Home Office sources said he ‘has made further representations which are being considered’ 

The three Albanian murderers exposed by the Mail 

Albanian double killer Saliman Barci, 41 whose using human rights laws to avoid being sent back to his homeland

Albanian double killer Saliman Barci, 41 whose using human rights laws to avoid being sent back to his homeland

 ONE LEGGED DOUBLE KILLER

The farce of one-legged Albanian double killer Saliman Barci, 41, who has been granted legal aid to fight extradition from Britain even though he has allegedly confessed to the murders, was exposed by the Mail last May.

We revealed how Barci is using human rights laws in a desperate bid to avoid being sent back to his homeland, where he has been convicted in his absence of murdering two men in 1997.

The killer, who protests his innocence, has spent 20 months in custody battling a request to be returned to Albania to serve a 25-year sentence.

A court ordered his extradition last July, but he has since appealed against the decision. It will be heard at the High Court in London later this month.

Avni Metra, 54, extradited to Albania after evading justice in his homeland for nearly 20 years

Avni Metra, 54, extradited to Albania after evading justice in his homeland for nearly 20 years

 EYE GOUGER MURDERER

Notorious Albanian double killer Avni Metra, on the run for 18 years, was arrested by police last June after an international investigation by this newspaper revealed he was living in a grubby Home Counties bedsit.

The 53-year-old fugitive, who gouged out the eyes of one victim, was arrested after we alerted Scotland Yard to his whereabouts after hiding in the UK for nearly two decades.

Police had no idea where he was and had made little attempt to find him even though he was on an Interpol ‘most wanted’ list and had been arrested in London for wife-beating six years earlier, when he was using a false name.

The father of four has been dodging a 25-year jail term that followed his conviction in his absence for two murders.

At huge expense to the taxpayer, he is now fighting extradition on the grounds it would breach his human rights.

A court ordered his extradition last August but he has since appealed against the ruling and his case is due to be heard later this year.

Ardian Rragami, 45, is back on streets just months after the Mail exposed the scandal of his case

Ardian Rragami, 45, is back on streets just months after the Mail exposed the scandal of his case

RETURN TRIP MURDERER

A third Albanian murderer exposed by the Mail is back on streets just months after we exposed the scandal of his case.

In June this newspaper revealed that Ardian Rragami, 45, had returned to Britain four years after being forcibly sent home to serve a 15-year sentence for murder.

Within hours of the Home Office being asked to account for his presence here, immigration enforcement officers detained him pending deportation.

But in November we disclosed how Rragami had been granted bail as he appeals the decision to boot him out a second time.

Home Office sources said he ‘has made further representations which are being considered’. 

Advertisement

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.