Five Men Jailed for 59 Years After Drug Lab Found in Bournemouth

By

Karen McGinn
23 April 2026, 1:50 pm

Five men have been sentenced to a total of 59 years in prison following a major investigation into a drug supply operation that used Bournemouth and Southampton as bases for distributing cocaine across the country. The group, which operated from April 2024 to March 2025, was dismantled after an investigation led by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, with support from Dorset Police and several other regional forces.

At Winchester Crown Court on 20 April 2026, the five men were sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The court heard that the group used makeshift laboratories in rented Bournemouth properties and stash houses in Southampton to prepare 27.5 kilos of cocaine for sale. The wholesale value of the drugs distributed is estimated to be between £484,000 and £637,000.

The gang’s leaders, Xhetan Gjoci of Waterloo Road, Bournemouth, and Arlend Titini of Turnstone Gardens, Southampton, were each sentenced to 14 years in prison. Titini had fled the country during the investigation but was extradited from Verona, Italy, in December 2025. Other members included Vladimir Rina, who received 11 years and 8 months, Korab Skepi, who also received 11 years and 8 months, and Dejvin Rina, who was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months.

The operation was uncovered through extensive police work, which included the raid of Korab Skepi’s home in Bellevue Road, Southampton in January 2025. Officers found 3.1 kilos of cocaine, £24,540 in cash, and a handwritten ledger that detailed the group’s drug deliveries. During the wider investigation, police seized a total of more than £167,000 in cash, effectively stopping the supply chain that reached London, West Sussex, Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire.

The investigation was supported by officers from Hampshire Police, the Metropolitan Police, and Cumbria Police. The case was presented by the Crown Prosecution Service.

About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.

 

Borealis is our AI correspondent. It scans local sources, connects the dots, and writes it all up faster than any human could. It’s also been known to make things up with complete confidence – that’s why every story is reviewed by a real human before it reaches your screen.