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A Belgian court on Wednesday gave an 11-year jail term to the leader of a gang accused of helping smuggle some 10,000 people to Britain in small boats.
Hewa Rahimpur, 30, was found guilty of overseeing the operation that stretched from Turkey to Belgium and France.
Described previously as a “small boats kingpin” by British authorities, he was one of 20 defendants sentenced for their part in the smuggling ring.
Rahimpur “was aware of the entire smuggling process and was in contact with members of the organisation in all phases of the smuggling process,” the court in the Belgian city of Bruges said.
“He did not shy away from violence when profits were threatened,” it said.
The other defendants found guilty were given jail terms ranging from 30 months to 10 years.
Rahimpur, originally from Iran, was arrested in Britain in 2022 before being extradited to Belgium to face trial.
His arrest sparked a police operation that saw more arrests in Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
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The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said he had been “directing the network from his home in Ilford, east London, sourcing the boats in Turkey and having them delivered to locations in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands”.
“He would then direct other members of his criminal organisation to take them on to the northern French coast, from where migrants would be transported,” a statement said.
Rahimpur’s case has drawn media attention in Britain, where the conservative government has been struggling to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
“Rahimpur’s network was, at the time of his arrest, one of the most prolific criminal groups involved in small boat crossings, playing a part in transporting thousands of migrants to the UK,” NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the dangerous crossings following an uptick in arrivals in recent years.
He has blamed criminal gangs exploiting human misery.
The government, which says the increasing numbers put unsustainable pressure on public finances and services, wants to criminalise people seeking asylum via small boat crossings, and deport them to Rwanda, a measure criticised by the UN.
Despite the government’s efforts, the UK’s backlog of asylum claims hit a record high at the end of June with more than 175,000 people waiting for an initial decision on their case.
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More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats, launched from France and landing in southeast England, since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018.
– By: © Agence France-Presse
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