A prolific burglar who is believed to have travelled to the UK each winter from Albania to burgle homes across the south of England has been jailed. Gledis Uka has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
In December 2023, Kent Police received 2 separate reports of burglaries in Edenbridge. In both cases, windows and doors had been smashed for the suspect to gain entry to the houses and jewellery had been stolen.
Officers launched an investigation and took forensic evidence as blood had been found at both houses.
Over the next 2 years until November 2025, multiple reports were received from properties in Edenbridge and Sevenoaks which had similar circumstances of windows and doors being smashed to gain entry and items being stolen. More blood was also found at the scene.
Evidence was seized from them all which helped officers link them together. AS well as homes in Kent, Uka also burgled homes in Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Essex, London, Suffolk and Surrey.
Through the evidence gathered, officers were able to connect the burglaries to Uka, an Albanian national. They discovered a pattern to his crimes, where he would have a spate of offending in England from October to January, before stopping until the following winter.
On 30th January 2026, the 30 year old, of no fixed address, was arrested by Kent Police officers in Essex. He was charged the following day with 33 offences, linked to homes across the south of England.
Uka pleaded guilty to 19 offences, which was accepted, and on Tuesday 14th July he was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to 10 years’ imprisonment. Two of the charges were taken into consideration, and the others will remain on file.
Detective Constable Celia King said ‘This was a complex investigation which highlights the perseverance and dedication of officers for more than 2 years. Due to the time periods between each of the burglaries and the different locations, it was a thorough process to ensure we were able to officially connect them, via our forensic evidence, and link them to one person – Uka. Once he was identified, there were further complexities to track him down as he was only believed to be carrying out the spate of crimes in England during the winter months.’
