Eleven Years in Prison for Hiwa Rahimpour; Leader of Illegal Immigration Smuggling Ring in Europe Convicted

The mastermind behind a multi-million pound operation smuggling migrants to European countries was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the UK. Hiwa Rahimpour, a 30-year-old Iranian national residing in London, led a human trafficking gang across Europe, sending at least 10,000 illegal migrants to Britain by boat. According to the English newspaper Daily Mail, Rahimpour directed the smuggling network from his residence in Ilford, East London, procuring boats in Turkey and delivering them to locations in Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The UK National Crime Agency arrested him on May 4, 2022, with the help of Belgian authorities while he was walking in Wanstead Park, London. Following Rahimpour's arrest, police launched an operation across Europe that resulted in the seizure of 135 boats, 1,200 life jackets, thousands of euros in cash, and the arrest of 40 individuals in the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Two of the detainees in Belgium identified Rahimpour as the person who purchased the boats and organized their transport to the French shores. The UK National Crime Agency stated that six people were arrested in the UK, and information was shared with European partners leading to the arrest of several human trafficking operatives across the continent. Joint investigations by the UK and Belgium revealed that the human traffickers began their operations in a rural house in the town of Snabeck, Germany. This property was hidden behind tall trees, just thirty meters from the main road leading to highways connecting to the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium. Members of the group directed the boats' journey to the port of Calais in France from there. In July 2022, a UK court ordered Rahimpour's extradition to Belgium for trial. A prosecutor in Bruges, upon learning that Rahimpour and 19 of his accomplices charged each illegal migrant between three to six thousand pounds for crossing the English Channel in unseaworthy boats, found Rahimpour guilty and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. His 19 accomplices were also found guilty and received sentences ranging from two and a half to eight years. An anti-human trafficking official in Germany previously told the Daily Mail: 'We believe the initial planning of this gang was done on a kitchen table using a laptop or mobile phone in the Kurdish communities in the UK.' Jean-Philippe Lecocq, Deputy Head of the European Union Police - Europol - stated that migrants pay between two to nine thousand pounds to cross the English Channel, and the criminal group's activities alone generated over 51 million pounds in revenue in 2021. The gang executed their operations smartly and in a military-style. A British trafficking expert previously told the Daily Mail that the gang's methods were copied directly from 'just-in-time' regulations for delivering parts to car manufacturers at the moment of need: 'The idea was to transport the boats, engines, and migrants exactly at the same time and in darkness to the shores of France and quickly launch them. Their speed baffled the French police.' An Iranian Kurdish migrant who witnessed the group's operations last summer recounted: 'One night I was walking on the Calais beach. Just before 2 AM, a truck arrived. Its driver was a woman with dark hair who shouted in a Dutch or German accent: 'We are here.' The migrants had just arrived at the beach from the Calais camps and were following a map on their mobile phones sent to them by the traffickers. Apparently, the gang had given them instructions about the timing of their arrival at the beach.' 'A rubber boat and an outer boat appeared at that moment in the truck. They forced the migrants to unload and inflate the boat. Once they finished, while carrying the black and green boat over their heads, they ran towards the sea.' 'Two male migrants took the other boat with them. Within minutes, everything was over. The truck was returning as the migrants moved the boat towards the sea heading to England.' At the time of Rahimpour's arrest last year, Jacques Beer, Deputy Director of Investigations at the UK National Crime Agency, stated that this individual was accused of being involved in one of the most significant criminal networks supplying boats for human traffickers. Craig Turner, Deputy Director of Investigations at the UK National Crime Agency, stated today that Hiwa Rahimpour's network was one of the busiest criminal groups involved in transporting thousands of migrants to Britain at the time of his arrest: 'Bringing him to justice required cooperation from law enforcement across Europe.' According to him, this work demonstrates the agency's determination to do whatever it takes to disrupt and dismantle dangerous human trafficking gangs. For them, human lives are a profitable commodity. They also exploit the UK border. He stated: 'Our work continues - the agency alone is currently conducting about 90 investigations into high-level organized immigration crimes, including those using boats and freight trucks.' 'Criminal networks do not care about the safety of the individuals they transport and are pleased to put people's lives in very dangerous situations. That is why disrupting and dismantling them remains a key priority for us.' The UK Home Office has announced that last year, over 285,000 people reached the country by crossing dangerous passages. The unprecedented increase in the number of Iranian asylum seekers to the UK despite severe measures taken by the authorities of that country.