Albanian mobster serving 32 years in jail for murder films TikTok videos in his cell begging followers for cash to fund prison appeal – while he sports £550 Dolce & Gabbana trainers
An Albanian gangster serving 32 years for murder is filming TikTok videos from his prison cell of him begging his followers for money, despite wearing a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sneakers worth £550.
Gangland killer Eugert Merizaj, 33, appears to be using a banned mobile phone for his online profession in prison, which was discovered by The sun on Sunday.
Merizaj spoke to the self-proclaimed ‘King of Instagram‘ and fellow Albanian Kozak Braci in a video filmed at HMP Manchester last week.
In the clip, Braci tells Merizaj: ‘You get €2,000 from me, €2,000 from Fabio [an Albanian murderer in jail in Greece] . . . as support for you to get out of prison.’
He also brags about having spent £50,000 on lawyers, saying: ‘Nobody wants to release me. My money is gone.’
The 33-year-old reportedly spends his money on designer gear and can be seen in one photo wearing a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sneakers that retail for £550.
Gangland killer Eugert Merizaj wears a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sneakers in prison that cost £550
Merizaj, 33, appears to be using a banned mobile phone for his online appeal against the prison
Merizaj spoke to the ‘King of Instagram’ and fellow Albanian Kozak Braci last week in a video filmed at HMP Manchester
The financial appeal comes after it was revealed in August last year that Merizaj was broadcasting live videos from his British prison cell on TikTok of himself flirting with women and playing online games with criminals in other prisons.
He even boasted that his phone had been delivered to his prison in Manchester by drone and that he had hidden it in a toilet roll.
Merizaj also bragged that if his phone were discovered by prison officials, he would “just buy a new one.”
He claimed at the time that it was the third phone he has used in prison, each costing him £2,000.
The 33-year-old filmed himself and his fellow inmate calling himself Cameron as he flirted with a woman who said she was 21.
“She’s sassy, man,” Cameron can be heard saying. “Does she even know we’re in jail?”
Merizaj also used a feature called ‘Live Match’ on TikTok to communicate with friends outside prison – and also to earn small amounts of money.
Live Matches involve TikTok users filming themselves talking to other users for five minutes, often begging online spectators for donations.
The 33-year-old reportedly spends his money on designer gear and can be seen in one photo wearing a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sneakers worth £550.
In the clip, Braci tells Merizaj: ‘You get €2,000 from me, €2,000 from Fabio [an Albanian murderer in jail in Greece] . . . as support for you to get out of prison.’
Eugert Merizaj (top left), who uses the nickname ‘Babale’, and a fellow inmate, who called himself Cameron, filmed themselves flirting with a woman (photo) via TikTok
Eugert Merizaj (photo) was sentenced to 32 years in prison for his role in the brutal murder of a drug rival
Hemawand Ali Hussein (pictured) was shot in the head in a house in Hartlepool in 2019 by a gang that Merizaj was part of
The winner of a competition is the one who receives the most ‘gifts’ from viewers, in the form of colorful virtual stickers.
The gifts are converted into points, which can ultimately be exchanged for cash. However, it is believed that TikTok will achieve a discount of more than 50 percent.
Some popular gifts, including roses and footballs, can be bought for less than a penny, but the most expensive, stars, cost more than £400.
Merizaj was part of a gang that lured cannabis dealer Hemawand Ali Hussein to a house in Hartlepool in 2019 before shooting him with a shotgun.
After the murder, the gangster was tracked down in Belgium and extradited to Great Britain.
Three other members of the Albanian gang have been convicted of manslaughter and three suspects are on the run.
Jailing him for life in 2022, Mr Justice Lavender accepted that Merizaj had not pulled the trigger and was not in the house when the murder took place, but said he had been closely involved in planning it and had purchased weapons including an axe.
Sources suggested to The Sun that prison staff were investigating the videos after the newspaper alerted them.
The Prison Service previously said: ‘Telephones will not be tolerated in prisons and those who break the rules will be severely punished, including extra time behind bars.
‘We are working with TikTok to remove these videos and our £100 million investment in airport security has helped stop more than 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones and weapons into prisons since October last year.’
