A fugitive trio involved in a depraved people smuggling gang who trafficking and sexually abused child migrants have been arrested in the UK.
The three on-the-run Afghan nationals were convicted in their absence in Belgium for their involvement in the mammoth people smuggling ring following a joint investigation by the National Crime Agency and Belgian police.
Prosecutors in Belgium say their gang were involved in organising the transport of migrants from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey and the Balkans into western Europe, mainly France and Belgium.
Many would eventually be put on small boats from northern France to the UK, with the gang suspected of transporting thousands of people this way.
The group also committed serious sexual offences against male migrant minors, including rape which they would video and use the footage to blackmail the victims into criminality and further sexual abuse.
NCA investigators supported the Belgian investigation for around two years, supplying intelligence and evidence to the Belgian Federal Police around suspected members of the network.
NCA officers swoop to arrest the fugitives (Image: NCA)
Deadly small boat migrant crossings (Image: Getty)
Don’t miss…
Last month a court in Antwerp convicted and sentenced the trio and 20 other members of the gang to a total of 170 years imprisonment, with sentences ranging from two to 18 years.
Eleven members were tried in their absence, including the three men now arrested in the UK
Ziarmal Khan, 24, was arrested on December 6 by MPS officers at Stansted Airport in relation to a domestic violence offence, and further arrested on behalf of the Belgians while in custody.
Specialist NCA extradition officers then arrested 20-year-old Zeeshan Banghis at an address on New Kent Road on December 18 and Saifur Rahman Ahmedzai, 23, at an address in Hemel Hempstead this morning.
Ahmedzai was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while Khan and Banghis were each sentenced to three years in jail. All three were also fined 3,000 Euros.
They now face being returned to Belgium to serve their sentences and extradition proceedings have commenced.
Officers also worked with colleagues from Border Force and Immigration Enforcement to identify migrants and victims of the network who had been transported to the UK, conducting safeguarding checks.
NCA Deputy Director Craig Turner said: “This operation shows that no matter where people smuggling gangs operate, we will find them and bring them to justice.
“These men were part of a network involved in illegally moving migrants across the globe, through Europe and eventually into northern Europe and the UK, profiting from the dangerous situations they put vulnerable people into as they were transported, and committing the most heinous sexual offences against them.
“The work done by NCA officers, alongside partners in the UK and Belgium, was crucial to securing the convictions in Antwerp of gang members in November this year, and these further arrests should send a very clear message that we will not stop in our work to disrupt and dismantle the gangs that are behind these horrendous crimes.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (Image: Getty)
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This case is nothing short of sickening. These men ran extensive illegal smuggling operations and inflicted extreme cruelty on the migrants they smuggled – some of them children – when they were at their most vulnerable.
“I am grateful to the NCA, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement officers, for their hard work and dedication in pursuing these vile criminal gangs, safeguarding victims of exploitation and protecting our borders.
“As part of the Government’s Plan for Change to strengthen our borders, we are working ever more closely with international partners to track down dangerous criminal networks like these, disrupt their activities and ensure they face the full force of the law, to protect people and save lives.
“In recent weeks we’ve agreed landmark new deals with Iraq and Germany, pledging mutual support and co-operation to tackle this shared challenge. At the Calais Group meeting with European partners too, we agreed to enhance our joint efforts to end this dangerous trade.