The ringleaders of an Afghan organised crime group have been convicted and jailed in France for smuggling illegal immigrants through the English Channel to the UK in small boats.
A total of nine men, all Afghan nationals, were convicted of immigration and organised crime offences on April 21 following a trial in Paris, according to Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
The gang’s ringleaders—Rozi Khan Sarwari, age unknown, Zaman Zahid, 31, Arman Kuba, age unknown, and Mohammed Fazel Ahmadi, 39—were jailed for a total of 21 years and fined a total of 105,000 euros (£93,000).
They will be banned indefinitely from French territory after serving the sentences.
Five other gang members—Rokai Ahmadi, 21, Nesar Ahmad, 28, Shir-Ahmad Husseinkhel, 27, Fahim Ahmadi, 31, and Zahid Azizi, 28—were handed a combination of smaller jail terms, suspended sentences, and lower level fines.
All nine were each convicted of aiding the illegal residence of a foreigner in France as part of an organised crime group and criminal conspiracy under French law.
The gang was dismantled after a multi-agency operation—involving the NCA and French law enforcement—which launched an investigation into the network in November 2020.
Anglo-French Cooperation
According to the NCA, the gang—based in the Paris area—would buy second-hand boats and lifejackets online before travelling to the northern French coast to bury equipment in sand dunes near Wimereux, in the Pas-de-Calais region.Each inflatable boat could carry between 10 and 15 illegal immigrants—usually Vietnamese or Afghan nationals—who would be charged between 1,500 and 4,000 euro (£1,327 and £3,540) each to get to the UK.
The NCA believes the group made between 79,000 and 212,000 euro (£69,910 and £187,611) from the venture.
They were linked to at least four small boat events aimed at smuggling illegal immigrants to the UK.
French police made arrests in the Yvelines region, west of Paris, in March 2021, ending the group’s activities.
Sarwari was jailed for six years and fined 30,000 euro (£26,500) while Zahid, Kuba, and Mohammed Fazel Ahmadi were each jailed for five years and fined 25,000 euro (£22,120).
Rokai Ahmadi, Ahmad, and Azizi were each given a one-year suspended jail sentence. Azizi was additionally fined 1,500 euro (£1,327).
Husseinkhel was sentenced to eight months suspended imprisonment and fined 1,000 euro (£884).
‘Top Priority’
NCA deputy director Oliver Higgins said: “Tackling organised immigration crime is top priority for the NCA, and we now have more than 90 active investigations into people smuggling or trafficking.“Much of the criminality involved in these small boat crossings lies outside the UK, so we have built up our intelligence-sharing effort with law enforcement partners in France, Belgium, and beyond.
“This includes having NCA officers based in those countries, sharing intelligence and working side by side on joint investigations. And, as this case demonstrates, this is bringing operational results in the form of arrests and prosecutions.
“We are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle these networks, who are putting lives at risk.”
According to Home Office figures, 45,755 illegal immigrants arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel in 2022.
Out of the 43,794 who had their nationality recorded, 28 percent were Albanian nationals and 20 percent were Afghan.
More than 5,500 illegals have already arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel this year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made “stopping the boats” one of his five priorities and has said he is “determined to deliver” on his promise.
The government is trying to get its Illegal Migration Bill—aimed at clamping down on illegal small boat crossings—through Parliament.
Ahead of the final voting on the bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “We are seeing heightened levels of criminality when related to the people who’ve come on boats, related to drug dealing, exploitation, prostitution.
“There are real challenges which go beyond the migration issue of people coming here illegally. We need to ensure that we bring an end to the boat crossings.”
The bill aims to ban anyone who arrives in the UK illegally from claiming asylum. If it becomes law, illegal entrants will be swiftly removed from the UK to their home country or a safe third country like Rwanda and will be banned from reentry.
The bill would also enable powers to be granted to detain immigrants for 28 days without recourse for bail or judicial review, and then indefinitely for as long as there is a “reasonable prospect” of removal.
