Cops probe two suspected people smugglers 'linked' to jailed migrant kingpin

21 October 2023 , 19:16

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Hewa Rahimpur was this week sentenced to 11 years (Image: NCA / SWNS)

Two suspects linked to a jailed people-smuggling kingpin are being investigated by Britain’s FBI.‌ Hewa Rahimpur, whose network is believed to have trafficked about 10,000 migrants across the channel in small boats to the UK, was this week sentenced to 11 years.

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(NCA) – which arrested Rahimpur before he was extradited to Belgium – is probing two Albanian men in connection to the ringleader’s network. The pair were arrested in London in July last year on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration in relation to the probe into Rahiumpur.

They were released but are still being investigated by the NCA. At the time of their arrest, the NCA said they “were allegedly involved in orchestrating migrant movements and laundering the profits.” Kiosk owner Rahimpur, 30, was sentenced in Belgium on Wednesday. The Kurd was among 20 gang members convicted in one of Europe's biggest people-smuggling trials.

The NCA previously described Rahimpur - who came to the UK in 2016 to claim asylum - as being "suspected of being a leading figure in the network". His gang pocketed up to £260,000 per crossing, according to the NCA. The criminals charged between £3,000 and £6,000 to get to the UK.

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Moment Rahimpur was arrested (NCA / SWNS)

Rahimpur sourced boats in Turkey before getting them transported to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The crook then directed members of his network to take them to the north coast of France. The NCA’s deputy director, Craig Turner, said migrants’ lives were treated as a commodity by the gang.

Rahimpur was arrested by NCA officers in May last year in Ilford, east London, as part of a joint probe with Belgian authorities. Rahimpur’s arrest triggered an operation across Europe to nail the network’s other members – leading to arrests in July last year in Germany, France, the Netherlands as well as the UK.

Last July a UK court ordered Rahimpur to be extradited to Belgium for trial. Some 19 others were convicted alongside him and jailed for terms ranging from eight years to 30 months. An NCA spokesman said: “Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA, and we currently have more than 90 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals involved in organised immigration crime or human trafficking.

“This includes investigations actively targeting groups involved in small boats criminality or activity which facilitates it, for example through the supply of boats and engines or the laundering of profits. “We will use our full range of law enforcement tactics to disrupt and arrest facilitators and their networks at every step of the route.

"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.”

Simon Murphy