A notorious people smuggler who helped up to 10,000 people enter Britain illegally has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Hewa Rahimpur led a criminal gang that reportedly charged £6,000 per person, making profits of up to £200,000 per crossing. The 30-year-old was granted asylum after he illegally entered the UK in 2016. It is understood that he used a food retail shop as a front for his smuggling activities.
Rahimpur’s efforts were foiled last year after the National Crime Agency (NCA) intercepted phone messages as part of a Europe-wide operation.
The sentence was handed out in Belgium, following his extradition from the UK. The criminal was also ordered to pay €80,000 (£69,400). Twenty Germans have also been sentenced as part of the operation.
An NCA official described Rahimpur’s network as “one of the most prolific criminal groups involved in small boat crossings, playing a part in transporting thousands of migrants to the UK.” They added:
And our work is continuing—the NCA alone currently has around 90 investigations ongoing into high-level organised immigration crime, including those using boats and HGVs.
The criminal networks do not care about the safety of those they transport, and are happy to put people in extremely dangerous and life-threatening situations. This is why disrupting and dismantling them remains a key priority for us.
At his trial last month, messages with “customers” were read out in court. After one complained that “the boat is bad,” Rahimpur responded that this was “not important … just get to the other side.” He also advised them not to call for the French coastguard, according to The Guardian—a clear indicator that those in the business believe British officials are more lenient.
Aside from this win, all recent efforts to deter those from making the dangerous and illegal journey have ended in failure and humiliation, meaning thousands upon thousands more are still expected to come.
