People ‘trafficked’ to region hidden in trucks, court hears

A‘SLICK’ people smuggling ring operating in the Midlands trafficked illegal immigrants into the UK in lorries, a court has heard.

The criminal network of gangs arranged for Vietnamese nationals to be concealed in the back of heavy goods vehicles, risking their lives in the process, and cross the border using a ferry or the Channel Tunnel, it is alleged.

From there they disembarked trucks in Kent, typically at Maidstone Services, and were collected in cars to be taken to the Midlands where they ‘vanished into the community’, a jury was told.

Birmingham man Hai Le is accused of being an important ‘link man’ in the operation.

The 25-year-old of Grove Lane, Handsworth, is one of three men who went on trial at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

He and co-defendants Karzan Mohammed, 33, of Brandwood Street, Bolton, and Habib Behsodi, 41, from Rochester Street, Chatham, all deny conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

Prosecutor Kelly Brocklehurst, opening the case, said: “At its core this is a case about a criminal enterprise to facilitate unlawful immigration. You may have heard it referred to it as people smuggling. This can happen in a variety of ways.

“In this particular case, the Crown say, it involved a network of criminal operatives, some of whom appear in the dock and court room.

“A network who arranged for people not entitled to enter this country lawfully to be transported by mainland Europe in the back of heavy goods vehicles, HGVs, and those lorries with their human cargo would cross the channel. On occasions it seems it might have been on a ferry, on other occasions it was by tunnel.”

He added: “Once they were in the UK those immigrants were transported from HGV into a car. It wasn’t always the same car or driver.

“They moved from the south up to the Midlands. Once the immigrants were in the Midlands they were met by further members of the conspiracy and seemingly vanished into the community.

“This plan, the Crown say, was purposely designed to avoid immigration controls on our border.”

Mr Brocklehurst told the court a ‘key moment’ in the National Crime Agency-led investigation occurred on September 3, 2020 when police pulled over a BMW X5 on the M25 between Junctions 9 and 10. He stated one of the two occupants was a Vietnamese national who ‘has no leave to remain in this country’ and is under further investigation.

Officers further found six bundles of cash totalling more than £55,000 and an iPhone, the court was told.

Mr Brocklehurst stated the calls and messages on the mobile were analysed and showed ‘criminal activity concerning the unlawful movement of immigrants, from Europe to the UK’.

The phone also led to the identification of the three defendants, the court heard.

Mr Brocklehurst added: “The risks that these conspirators, including these defendants, took with people’s lives by placing them in the back of HGVs are perhaps obvious.

“Some of the messages showed those involved were only too keen and aware of the dangers of placing people inside concealed logistics containers. Clearly the back of HGVs is not designed to transport human beings.”

Mohammed and Behsodi were described as ‘instrumental to the success of the conspiracy’, and were drivers allegedly employed to collect immigrants from Kent and bring them to the Midlands. Both claim they were unaware of the illegal status of those they transported, the jury was told.

Mr Brocklehurst added: “This wasn’t humanitarian, it was about making money.”

(Proceeding)