A convicted Romanian gangster running a children’s fight club in London has dodged extradition after a British judge ruled sending him back would ruin his family life.
Gangster Boss Adrian Preda to Stay in UK
Adrian Preda, 44, will stay put in north west London, running his “Preda Fight Club” gym in Kingsbury. District Judge Kevin Grego ruled that extraditing Preda would place an “unacceptable burden” on his wife and their three young kids, aged 12, 9, and 8.
“There is no option other than her returning to Romania with the children if he is extradited,” the judge quoted Preda’s wife, who fears losing their UK home and regular visits to her husband.
Criminal Past and Failed Extraditions
- Romania issued a fresh European Arrest Warrant in 2024, demanding Preda serve multiple sentences.
- His rap sheet includes attempted murder, attacking police in a nightclub brawl, and gang ties with the notorious Sportivii crime network.
- The gang’s linked to £2 million worth of heroin trafficking, army arms theft, and brutal street shootings in Bucharest.
- Despite a nine-year sentence, Preda fled to London after being released on bail while appealing.
This is the second time UK courts have blocked Romania’s extradition bid. Back in 2018, overcrowded Romanian jails were ruled a human rights risk.
Family Life Wins Over Justice
Judge Grego admitted Romanian prisons have improved but said family rights took priority. Preda’s lawyers argued sending him back would breach his Article 8 rights to private and family life.
Preda claims he’s been targeted because of Romanian corruption and insists he now lives clean. Social media shows him training kids and adults in mixed martial arts at his gym. He even once fought controversial influencer Tristan Tate in a cage fight.
Political Outrage Over Ruling
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp slammed the verdict as a “disgrace.”
“Because of the ECHR, we cannot deport a dangerous foreign national offender wanted for violent crimes,” Philp said. “He should not be in our country.”
Philp promised a future Conservative government would scrap the European Convention on Human Rights to ramp up deportations to 150,000 a year — targeting all foreign offenders and illegal immigrants.
