Illegal immigrants who botched raid on £1.5m home claimed they were glad to be booted out of UK – as it’s ‘too cold’

TWO illegal immigrants who botched a raid on a £1.5million mansion said they were glad to be booted out of Britain as it is “too cold”.

Sebastiano Gjoni, 23, and Skelidano Koliqi, 26, travelled 300 miles to a luxury house in the Cheshire ”footballer belt’ of Alderley Edge for the burglary.

But when the bungling pair entered the home, they discovered the owners were actually at home.

Gjoni and Koliqi were forced to flee as the targets shouted “Robbers! Robbers!” and locked themselves in a bedroom.

The Albanian nationals were discovered by cops shivering in a freezing ditch after officers followed their footprints in the snow.

While being quizzed, Gjoni admitted: ”I’m glad we were caught. It’s extremely cold here. We’ve got nowhere to go.”

He was jailed for 28 months while Koliqi was handed an 18 month sentence after both men admitted burglary.

The pair, who sneaked into the UK illegally hoping to get work in the construction industry, will be deported back to Albania following their releases from jail.

Chester Crown Court was told Gjoni had raided a £3million home just five days before the botched burglary in nearby Halebarns.

He made off with £1,000 worth of jewellery and perfume while the company was out.

Spurred on by his success, he and Koliqi hatched a plan to target the home in plush Alderley Edge, which is home to numerous Premier League footballers.

They drove 300 miles from their base in Haringey, North London, on January 18 this year and broke in while the owners were in bed.

One of the family was woken by a noise and looked outside to find a man with his face partially covered with his hood climbing the stairs.

After the robbers fled empty-handed, police arrived 13 minutes later and arrested them.

Prosecutor Patrick Gartland said: “Gjoni told police he had not wanted to cause any damage and said he was happy he was caught.

“He said it was extremely cold, and they did not know where to go. Both defendants are in the country illegally and will face deportation to Albania.

”Koliqi was asked about his employment and said he did cash in hand labour for about £50 to £60 a day. Gjoni said he was homeless, had no job and had been living here illegally since 2018.”

Sentencing, Judge Patrick Thompson said the pair would serve half their sentence before likely being deported back to Albania.

He added: “The owners must have been terrified at the thought of two intruders in their home.”

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