Albanian mobster serving 32 years in jail for murder films TikTok videos in his cell begging followers for cash to fund prison appeal - while he sports £550 Dolce & Gabbana trainers

An Albanian mobster serving 32 years for murder is filming TikTok videos from his prison cell begging his followers for cash - despite sporting a £550 pair of Dolce & Gabbana trainers.

Gangland killer Eugert Merizaj, 33, appears to be using a banned mobile phone for his online prison appeal which was uncovered by The Sun on Sunday.

Merizaj spoke to self-branded 'King of Instagram' and fellow Albanian Kozak Braci in one video last week filmed inside HMP Manchester. 

In the clip, Braci tells Merizaj: 'You will have €2,000 from me, €2,000 from Fabio [an Albanian murderer in jail in Greece] . . . as a support for you to get out of prison.'

He also boasts about spending £50,000 on lawyers and says: 'No one will let me out. My money has gone.'

The 33-year-old reportedly spends his money on designer gear and can be seen in one picture wearing a pair of Dolce & Gabbana trainers that retail at £550.

The financial appeal comes after it was revealed in August last year that Merizaj was broadcasting live videos from his UK jail cell on TikTok in which he flirts with women and plays online games with criminals in other prisons.

He even boasted that his phone was dropped off at his Manchester prison by drone and that he hides it inside a toilet roll.

Merizaj also bragged that if his phone is discovered by prison officers he would just 'buy another one'. 

He claimed at the time it was the third phone he has used in prison, each costing him £2,000.

The 33-year-old filmed himself and fellow inmate, calling himself Cameron flirting with a woman who said she was 21.

'She's cheeky, man,' Cameron is heard saying. 'Does she know that we are in jail though?'

Merizaj also used a feature called 'Live Match' on TikTok to communicate with friends outside jail – and also make small sums.

Live Matches involve TikTok users filming themselves talking to other users for five minutes, in which they often implore online spectators for donations.

The winner of a match is the one receiving most 'gifts' from viewers, in the form of colourful virtual stickers.

The gifts are converted to points, which ultimately can be redeemed for money. TikTok, however, is believed to take a cut of more than 50 per cent.

Some popular gifts including roses and footballs can be bought for less than one penny but the most expensive, stars, cost more than £400.

Merizaj was part of a gang who lured cannabis dealer Hemawand Ali Hussein to a house in Hartlepool in 2019 before blasting him with a shotgun.

The gangster was tracked down in Belgium after the killing and extradited to the UK.

Three other members of the Albanian gang were jailed for manslaughter and three suspects are on the run.

Jailing him for life in 2022, Mr Justice Lavender accepted Merizaj did not pull the trigger and was not in the house when the killing took place, but said he had been heavily involved in its planning and had bought weapons including an axe.

Sources suggested to The Sun that prison officers were investigating the videos after they were made aware of them by the newspaper. 

The Prison Service previously said: 'Phones are not tolerated in prisons and those who break the rules face tough punishment – including extra time behind bars.

'We are working with TikTok to remove these videos and our £100million investment in airport-style security has helped stop over 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones and weapons into prisons since last October.'