Five Men Sent to Prison Following South Cumbria Drug Supply Operation

Five men have received custodial sentences for their involvement in an organised drug dealing operation based in South Cumbria. The cases were heard at Preston Crown Court in early February.
Four of the defendants were sentenced on 3 February after admitting possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. The prison terms handed down were as follows:

Erald Sulaj (22) of Boreham Wood was jailed for 33 months.
Ergys Elezi (22), who has no fixed address, received 30 months.
Sokratis Lleshaj (21), from Barrow, was sentenced to 24 months.
Perlat Hamza (36), also of Barrow, was given 32 months in prison.

A fifth man, Egzon Doci (31) of Harrow, was previously sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment in April 2025 after admitting similar charges. He has since been deported to Albania after completing his sentence.
The court heard that the investigation began in March 2025 when police observed suspicious behaviour in Barrow-in-Furness. Officers approached a vehicle linked to Doci, who attempted to flee on foot and discarded a package later found to contain wraps of cocaine.
Searches of the men’s addresses uncovered significant quantities of cocaine, cash, and drug packaging materials. In one case, 34 sealed bags of cocaine were found hidden under a mattress.
Further arrests in July 2025 linked Sulaj and Elezi to the wider operation after they were stopped on the M1 in Northamptonshire. A London address connected to the suspects was also searched, where police seized approximately 3 oz of cocaine and over £20,000 in cash.
A spokesperson for the Serious Organised Crime Unit said the sentences reflect the force’s commitment to tackling drug supply and disrupting criminal networks across the region.