A sophisticated London-based people smuggling gang, responsible for cramming migrants into refrigerated lorries for perilous journeys from the UK to France, has been dismantled by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Twelve members of the ruthless syndicate have now been convicted, bringing an end to a series of dangerous operations that saw vulnerable individuals, including children as young as five, subjected to terrifying conditions.
The gang, headed by a 41-year-old Algerian national Azize Benaniba, brought migrants of North African origin into the UK on tourist visas. Once here, they were packed into lorries and attempts were made to smuggle them back to France, with each migrant charged up to £1,200 for the illicit trip. NCA investigators identified over 20 separate smuggling runs between February and October 2023, often originating from areas like Dover and Sandwich, key points for cross-Channel travel.
Horrifying evidence emerged during the investigation, with videos found on a ringleader’s phone showing terrified migrants screaming for help from inside locked lorry trailers. In one particularly harrowing incident on September 6, 2023, NCA officers intervened at a layby in Sandwich, Kent, to rescue 39 migrants, including women and children, who had been loaded into an airtight refrigerated lorry trailer. Several individuals, including a child, required urgent medical attention after being discovered.
The NCA launched its investigation in February 2023 after 58 migrants were found by French border police hidden inside a lorry in Calais, having arrived from the UK. Subsequent attempts by the gang were thwarted by vigilant NCA surveillance teams, who intercepted lorries travelling to the UK border, rescuing the hidden migrants and arresting complicit drivers.
Benaniba, who pleaded guilty before the trial, oversaw a network that included four lieutenants who hired a team of drivers. A man aged 43 acted as the network’s facilitator, transporting people to rendezvous points for transfer into the lorries.
By early 2024, the NCA had identified key members across all levels of the organised crime group. A coordinated strike on properties in North London on March 20, 2024, led to the arrest of the ringleaders, with three more convictions secured on June 16 following a six-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court. The successful operation underscores the NCA’s ongoing commitment to disrupting organised immigration crime and protecting those exploited by ruthless smuggling networks.
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.”