30-year-old Iranian immigrant Hewa Rahimpur was sentenced to 11 years in a Belgian prison for his key role in a wide-reaching gang network that smuggled illegal migrants and asylum seekers across the English channel.

He initially entered the UK in 2016 claiming that he would face persecution in Iran as an ethnic Kurd. It is believed he may have entered the UK through a similar network of smugglers who used lorries to bring people across the border. 

Rahimpur was granted leave to remain in the UK in 2020 and subsequently established a barber’s shop and food kiosk as fronts for his criminal activities. His landlady and friends described him as ‘nice to everyone’ and ‘like a kid… a proper mummy’s boy.’

His smuggling network began with the shipment of supplies such as inflatable boats, engines, and lifejackets to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Another group then moved the boats to France, where they would be filled with people wishing to enter the UK.

Reportedly, migrants were set off in broken boats held together by gaffer tape and given little instruction. They were told which direction to travel and how to operate the engine, but once on the water, texts show they were left to fend for themselves. The only warning given was never to turn around or contact the Coast Guard.

According to prosecutors, the gang would charge migrants between £3000-6000 to cross. This is estimated to have brought in more than £250,000 per boat, or nearly £52 million over the course of a year. Mr Rahimpur was charged a fine of €80,000.

The investigation itself began with the seizure of motors and deflated boats at the Belgian-French border in 2021.

Since then, police in six countries have coordinated to confiscate additional materials and enact arrests. In Germany, 60 inflatable boats were seized and upon his arrest in East London, police added an additional 135 boats, 45 engines, and 1200 life jackets to the list.

In addition to his eleven-year sentence, an additional 19 gang members were charged and are expected to serve between 30 months and eight years in jail. 

In Birmingham, this has followed a summer of raids by police on illegal workers and their employers. More than 700 arrests were made and half were likely to be deported. In one raid, 105 workers were found to be working either in excess of their visa or without one, resulting in more than £180,000 in fines.

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