Three members of a gang who killed a drug rival from Dagenham and then dumped him on a residential street have been jailed for a total of more than 45 years.

The body of Tomasz Waga, 23, was found on Westville Road in Cardiff on January 28, 2021.

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

READ MORE: Driver bailed after police chase through Dagenham streets

The trio were sentenced today (January 10).

Barking and Dagenham Post:

Tomasz Waga (pictured above)

In a statement, Tomasz's family said: “No custodial sentence can ever reverse the permanent heartache and pain we feel daily as a family.

"After close to two years, we however have closure.

“Tomasz paid too great a price for the events that unfolded the night he lost his life. He will remain in our hearts forever.”

Jurors were told young father Tomasz was among four men who travelled from London on the night of his death 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 in Newport Road – they discovered Aliaj, the gang’s “gardener”, was asleep in one of the rooms.

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

Tomasz was cornered by the three defendants.

It is believed he was then the subject of a savage attack, including kicks and stamps, before being dragged out of the property and into an awaiting Mercedes vehicle.

 

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

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

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, Tottenham, were acquitted of murder due to the jury being directed to return a not guilty verdict because of lack of evidence.

After the killers were sentenced, Det Supt 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.”