THREE members of an Albanian gang who brutally killed a drug rival and then dumped him on a residential street have been jailed for more than 45 years.

The body of Tomasz Waga, aged 23, from Dagenham in East London, was found on Westville Road in the Penylan area of Cardiff on January 28, 2021 after he’d been beaten to death.

Josif Nushi, Mihal Dhana and Hysland Aliaj were found guilty of taking part in his killing following a trial at Newport Crown Court.

South Wales Argus:

Victim Tomasz Waga

Jurors were told young father Mr Waga was among four men who travelled from London that night to the Welsh capital to steal from a cannabis factory set up by the organised crime group.

Upon breaking into the three-storey property – a former GP surgery on Newport Road – they discovered Aliaj, the gang’s “gardener”, was asleep in one of the rooms.

South Wales Argus:

Josif Nushi

Having heard the burglars, he alerted other members including Nushi and Dhana, who managed to get to the house within five minutes.

Mr Waga was cornered by the three defendants.

it is believed he was then the subjected of a savage attack including kicks and stamps to his head before being dragged out of the property and into an awaiting Mercedes vehicle.

South Wales Argus:

Mihal Dhana

He was driven a short distance before being pushed out of the car onto the street.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Waga’s sister Patrycja Waga said her brother was “dumped like rubbish”.

South Wales Argus:

Hysland Aliaj

Nushi, 28, of Ninian Road, Roath, Cardiff, and Dhana, 29, of Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff were found guilty of murder and were sentenced to life imprisonment – Nushi with a minimum term of 20 years, and Dhana with a minimum of 16 years in jail.

Aliaj, 31, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He was told he would serve two-thirds of the sentence before being released on licence.

Two others, Gledis Mehalla, 20, of no fixed abode, and Mario Qato, 27, of Lansdowne Road, London, were acquitted of Mr Waga’s murder due to the jury being directed to return a not guilty verdict because of lack of evidence.

After the killers were sentenced, Detective Superintendent Mark O’Shea, from South Wales Police, said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Tomasz Waga who was a much-loved son, brother, father, and partner to his girlfriend.

“He was a young man who made some bad choices and was in Cardiff that day for the wrong reason, however that does not excuse what took place on January 28 2021.

“Events that have left a family grieving and a small baby without a father.”