Two Leicester women who were part of an organised crime group which smuggled Middle Eastern nationals into the UK have been jailed. Zarina Abdulla and Amna Tarmahomed were part of a seven-person British-Palestinian network which operated between December 2017 and 2018.
The group smuggled at least 14 migrants from the likes of Kuwait and Syria into the UK, the Home Office said. Its members provided forged documents, with investigators finding they had access to around 240 European ID cards and passports.
In all, Abdulla and Tarmahomed along with their five co-conspirators organised 26 flights into the UK. Eleven of these resulted in 14 undocumented migrants seeking asylum, while a further three led to their flight’s facilitators being arrested. There were also 12 unsuccessful attempts by the gang.
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Investigations by the Home Office’s Criminal and Financial Investigations, (CFI), unit uncovered how widespread the network was, with migrant operations also attempted in Belgium, France and Spain. There were also two attempts at crossings through the border at Coquelles in France and Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands.
However, things unravelled when Border Force officers stopped fellow gang member Firdos Ahmed at Harwich Port. Ahmed was found to be carrying a French ID card in someone else’ name.
Subsequent searches uncovered a collection of fraudulent documents on her phone. Messages, including with her mother Zarina Abdulla, and other gang members were also found.
The seven were put on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on charges of conspiring to 'facilitate unlawful immigration through fraudulent documents'. The seven, who are aged between 24 and 51, were all found guilty of conspiracy to 'facilitate the entry into the UK of asylum seekers' and jailed yesterday, (Friday, February 10).
Abdulla, aged 51, of Leicester, was sentenced to three years in jail, while her daughter Firdos Ahmed, of Feltham in London, was sentenced to four years. Fellow Leicester woman Tarmahomed, 28, was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “Today’s sentences show that we will stop at nothing to tackle the despicable smuggling gangs and ensure they are brought to justice. Thanks to our specialist teams who work tirelessly to dismantle these international criminal networks, the smugglers are now behind bars.
“No one should be putting their lives in the hands of smuggling gangs by attempting to enter the UK illegally, which is why we will shortly introduce new legislation to ensure that anyone doing so is detained and swiftly returned home or to a safe third country.”
The other gang members sentenced included:
Moussa Aoun, 24, a Lebanese national from Shepherd’s Bush in London, who was sentenced to four years
Zahra Mohammad, 30, of Enfield, was jailed for four years
Ismail Hussein, 48, a Palestinian national, of Tottenham, London, was sentenced to six years
Micaiah Marley, 29, of Watford, was jailed for two-and-a-half years
Stuart Stokes, Assistant Director from the CFI unit, added: “CFI officers are working night and day to dismantle organised crime groups such as this. We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to investigating suspected people smugglers and bringing them before the courts.”
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