People smuggling gang who loaded terrified migrants as young as five inside locked trailers and shipped them from UK to France are jailed for 70 years

Seven people smugglers who packed migrants as young as five into locked trailers before shipping them off to France from the UK have been jailed for 70 years.

Videos were found on the phone of Algerian Azize Benaniba, 41, the head of the gang, of terrified families screaming for help.

The smugglers brought migrants of North African origin into the UK on tourist visas.

They were then charged £1,200 each to be smuggled to France via Dover during 20 separate trips throughout 2023.

Benaniba’s gang loaded hundreds of migrants, including children as young as five, into lorry trailers, some of which were refrigerated.

Mahmoud Haidous, 52, Abed Karouz, 30, Amor Ghabbari, 32, and Mohamed Abdelhadi, 50, hired a network of willing drivers to make the runs.

Mohamed Bouriche, 43, was responsible for transporting people to rendezvous locations where they would be moved into the lorries.

Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: ‘This was an extremely serious conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state.

‘Mr Benaniba is shown to be at the heart of it, but he was not a conventional boss giving orders to sub-ordinates.

‘It involved a shifting and rotating leadership group. This was a long-lived conspiracy over eight months, encompassing 20 events.

‘A large number of migrants were transported. The NCA stopped 7 HGVs, and located 157 migrants, but there were undoubtedly many more.

‘In short, there could have been a disaster. The organisation, the conspiracy, you all, had no scruple about children going on this or other trips.

Judge Curtis-Raleigh referred to the footage of the screaming migrants, including children, asking to let out of the lorry.

‘Once translated, the migrants are saying they are being sent to their deaths.’

He added: ‘This conspiracy was for purely financial gain. The conspiracy must have been a highly profitable one.

‘The Crown suggests it could have easily been over half a million pounds. I am satisfised that hundreds of thousands of pounds were generated.

‘You were paid massive sums of money by migrants who were in a highly vulnerable position, and who were then pilled often in high numbers in a lorry space not designed for passengers.

‘The money went somewhere, and NCA investigations into money laundering are ongoing.

‘This conspiracy raises legitimate concerns of governments and the public in the UK and neighbouring countries.

‘It was a serious wide ranging, sophisticated, and exploitative conspiracy, motivated by greed.’

The judge told Benaniba: ‘You suggested you were drawn into this. I don’t accept that. You were the central figure. ‘You were seen with migrants. You were seen with money.

Judge Curtis-Raleigh jailed Benaniba for a total of 12 years and 11 months.

Another ringleader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 10 years and four months; Haidous received 13-and-a-half years; Karrouz was jailed for nine years and eight months; Ghabbari was locked up for nine years; Abdelhadi was sentenced to seven years and three months; Bouriche was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

A total of 58 migrants were discovered by French border police hidden inside a lorry at Calais having arrived from the UK on 21 February 2023, sparking an investigation by the NCA.

Prosecutor Rebecca Austin said the gang claimed they ‘were simply doing the government’s job for them by transporting migrants out of Britain into France’.

‘The defendants claimed their actions were somehow removing migrants from Britain.

‘But these defendants’ action were far from removing migrants.

‘They created an industry where people would come to Britain in order to illegally cross the channel.

‘But some of the migrants found were simply released, as they were not necessarily here illegally.’

Ms Austin added: ‘The gang claimed this was a victimless event, and that they caused harm to nobody.

‘But a video showed men, women and children screaming in the dark for the doors of the lorry they were trapped in to be open.

‘That is an indication that shows this is not a victimless event.

‘Most of the HGV lorries used by the gang were airtight. The doors could only have been opened and secured from the outside.

‘In one HGV van, which had a 40 foot long trailer, 39 individuals were found. These were adults, children and females.

‘They were relieved that the doors opened when stopped by police. It allowed the heat to dissipate. It was at least 28 degrees that day when they were found.

‘Individuals were removed and were given water to hydrate. One male was taken to hospital as he was diabetic and did not have any medication.

‘Had that lorry not been intercepted, their lives would have been at risk’.

Ms Austin continued: ‘The migrants were picked up in a ZIP van at Heathrow Airport. They were driven to an industrial estate in Wembley, where the migrants were loaded into a HGV van.

‘Mr Karouz was at that industrial estate watching that happen’.

‘The drivers of these HGV vans worked for legitimate businesses, but they chose to align themselves to this criminal conspiracy.’

A series of subsequent attempted transportations were thwarted by NCA surveillance teams.

On each occasion officers intercepted the lorries as the travelled to the UK border, rescuing the migrants hidden inside and arresting the complicit drivers.

One attempt on September 6, 2023 saw 39 migrants, including women and children, loaded into an airtight refrigerated lorry trailer at a layby in Sandwich, Kent.

NCA officers quickly intervened to rescue the migrants, but a few of them, including a child, required medical attention.

By the start of 2024, the NCA had identified key members at all levels of the organised crime group.

The ringleaders were all arrested during a coordinated strike at properties in North London on March 20, 2024.

Videos of migrants travelling in lorry trailers were found on one of the organisers’ phones, including one where a migrant can be heard banging on the sides of the trailer, screaming and crying for help.

Five drivers involved in the smuggling ring were jailed last year.

Earlier John Turner, senior investigating officer for the National Crime Agency, 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.’

Benaniba, Karouz, Abdelhadi, and a defendant who cannot be named, admitted conspiracy to smuggle migrants from the UK to France.

Haidous, Ghabbari, and Bouriche, denied but were convicted of conspiracy to smuggle migrants from the UK to France after a six week trial.

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 jail terms for 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.’

Janine Baugh, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘This was a highly organised group which tried to smuggle migrants to France more than 20 times.

‘They put the lives of people at risk – often in inhumane conditions – just to profit off others. We presented the court with a video of people screaming to be let out of a trailer, which demonstrates these poor conditions.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work with our partners at home and overseas and play a vital role in the Border Security Command in order to bring those involved in organised immigration crime to justice.’