Eight members of a significant UK-based people smuggling gang have today been jailed for a total of 33 years, after cramming vulnerable migrants inside a car dashboard in a bid to smuggle them into the UK and utilising false documents to facilitate numerous illegal entries via air routes.
Brothers Mukhlis Jamal Hamadamin and Muhamad Jamal Hamadamin, Yassen Jalal Mohammed, Jozef Kadet, Dlawar Omar, Khales Jabar and partners Redar Curtis and Emily Etherington received a total of 33 years and four months behind bars at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for their part in the scheme.
The court heard how the gang facilitated illegal immigration into the UK via sophisticated concealments within vehicles. The gang also provided migrants with fraudulent identity documents created inside a forgery factory in Greece in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
Despite their sophisticated model, the gang were first intercepted in June 2022 after Border Force officers conducted a search of a vehicle inbound for the UK at Coquelles.
Inside, they discovered a Vietnamese woman dangerously concealed inside a cramped compartment behind the dashboard. Jozef Balog, the driver, was arrested and revealed to be a key member of the gang.
He pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration and was sentenced to over two years behind bars in January 2024.
Just one month later, the gang attempted to strike again but were stopped by Border Force officers who discovered another vulnerable woman disguised in the dashboard of their vehicle. Emily Etherington pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal entry into the UK at a hearing last October, her partner, Redar Curtis, was found guilty of the same offence following a trial.
Having linked the three perpetrators, the Home Office’s Criminal Financial Investigations (CFI) team launched a wider international investigation revealing five more gang members responsible for people smuggling and putting the UK’s border security at risk.
The complex investigation saw seven search warrants executed at various locations across the country, resulting in the seizure of counterfeit documents, over 20,000 illicit cigarettes, and £6,000 in criminal cash. A further investigation has already commenced to recover the profit made by this organised criminal gang.
The main suspect and organised crime boss, Mukhlis Jamal Hamadamin, was arrested at Manchester Airport in November 2023. Phone analysis revealed that Hamadamin possessed numerous images of passports and boarding passes, as well as messages between the gang detailing the creation and distribution of false documents. Today he was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
The investigation also linked Muhamad Jamal Hamadamin, Yassen Jalal Mohammed, Jozef Kadet, Dlawar Omar and Khales Jabar to the criminal scheme.
His Honour Judge Seeley warned the gang ahead of today’s sentencing that they should expect to receive substantial custodial sentences for their crimes and they now face a total of 33 years in prison.
