TWO men have each been jailed for 19 years after a National Crime Agency investigation uncovered a major people-smuggling operation being masterminded from a car wash in Caerphilly.
Dilshad Shamo, 43, and Ali Khdir, 42, were found to have played leading roles in an organised crime network that moved migrants across Europe from the Middle East.
The pair were placed under surveillance by the National Crime Agency for months during 2023 as investigators uncovered their involvement in the large-scale operation.
The court heard that, as part of a wider organised crime group, the men helped arrange the movement of migrants from Iraq, Iran and Syria through countries including Belarus, Moldova and Bosnia, with routes ending in Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France.
Migrants were offered three levels of service. The lowest tier involved travel on foot or hidden in HGVs or smaller vehicles. A second option involved journeys by cargo ship or yacht, while the highest-priced package involved air travel.
Payments were handled through Hawala bankers based in Iraq and Istanbul, who held funds on behalf of migrants before releasing money linked to agreed routes and journeys.
Investigators found that Shamo and Khdir used WhatsApp to communicate with smugglers across Europe. Once deposits had been secured, they would receive confirmation for migrants to be moved along specific routes or within set timeframes.
Other messaging and social media platforms were also used to advertise the routes, with videos showing families travelling by plane, boat and in the backs of HGVs.
Shamo and Khdir were arrested in April 2023 and charged with facilitating illegal migration through Europe. The National Crime Agency said the investigation was supported by Gwent Police.
Both men admitted the offences part way through their trial in November. They were sentenced on Friday (Apr 10) after a Newton hearing.
NCA Branch Commander Derek Evans said the two men had worked “around the clock” to organise the movement of migrants across Europe.
He added: “We believe they smuggled more than 400 people in a period of just six months.
“While on the surface they portrayed themselves as successful businessmen running a car wash from Caerphilly, they were actually leading an entirely separate life as part of a criminal network.”
Mr Evans said the agency would continue targeting organised immigration crime and bringing those involved to justice.
Kate Hurst, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the pair had tried to downplay their leading role when they admitted guilt.
She said: “We didn’t accept the basis on which Ali Khdir and Dilshad Shamo admitted their guilt because they tried to minimise their leading role in seeking to bring hundreds of migrants illegally into Europe.
“The court accepted our evidence and has handed down sentences that they both deserve.”
She added that the prosecution had relied on the work of National Crime Agency officers and international cooperation with overseas partners.
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