A criminal network based in North London that attempted to smuggle migrants from the UK into France using lorry trailers has been dismantled by the National Crime Agency (NCA) following a major investigation.
The gang, led by 41-year-old Algerian national Azize Benaniba, charged up to £1,200 per person to transport people – including children as young as five – in refrigerated and non-refrigerated trailers. Migrants of North African origin were brought into the UK on tourist visas before being packed into lorries for the attempted journeys via Dover.
Shocking videos discovered on a gang member’s phone, filmed by one of the migrants, showed terrified people locked inside trailers, banging and screaming for help.
Twelve members of the organised crime group have now been convicted. Benaniba pleaded guilty before the trial began. Three more were found guilty on 16 June after a six-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
His lieutenants – Mahmoud Haidous, 52, Abed Karouz, 30, Amor Ghabbari, 32, and Mohamed Abdelhadi, 50 – hired a network of drivers to carry out the journeys. Another key member, Mohamed Bouriche, 43, was responsible for transporting migrants to rendezvous locations.
The investigation began on 21 February 2023, after 58 migrants were found by French police in a lorry that had travelled from the UK to Calais. Over 20 separate smuggling runs were identified between February and October 2023.
On 6 September 2023, 39 migrants, including women and children, were loaded into an airtight refrigerated trailer in Sandwich, Kent. NCA officers intervened, and several people required medical attention.
By early 2024, the NCA had identified key figures at every level of the group. The ringleaders were arrested during coordinated raids at addresses in North London on 20 March.
John Turner, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “These smugglers had no care for the safety or wellbeing of the people they crammed into lorry trailers – their only concern was making money.
“We’ve seen the fatal consequences of this crime type, as migrants have sadly lost their lives being smuggled across borders on land and at sea.
“Our thorough investigation has safeguarded hundreds of migrants who were put in serious danger, and has now led to the convictions of 12 members of a prolific people smuggling network.
“These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities, and we know the gangs and drivers involved in outbound smuggling are often involved in inbound smuggling too.
“Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA, and alongside our international law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our efforts to dismantle these networks wherever they operate.”
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
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