A criminal organization comprised of five individuals has been convicted for their involvement in smuggling migrants into the UK using a refrigerated truck via Portsmouth port. The group’s illicit activities were exposed after a four-year probe conducted by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which included a surveillance operation that lead to the suspects’ arrest.
On 11 March 2019, NCA agents observed the criminals driving their VW Touran to meet a lorry operated by Marinel Danut Palage, a 31-year-old Romanian, at a Runcton industrial estate in West Sussex. The vehicle had arrived at Portsmouth from Caen, France, the previous evening, and was transporting a legitimate shipment of spinach from Spain, along with at least three individuals who had been smuggled into the UK.
Following the rendezvous, the VW Touran departed, stopping briefly at an A27 layby where the migrants were transferred to two other vehicles. The NCA intercepted one of these, a Vauxhall Astra, on the A34 northbound, and discovered two Iraqi siblings, aged 18 and 13, inside. Mariwan Mustafa, 33, a member of the smuggling ring, was driving the car.
The second vehicle, an Audi A3, was halted by police on the M3, where a 30-year-old Iraqi woman was discovered. Upon being approached by NCA officers, Palage attempted to flee but was apprehended. A subsequent search of his truck cab revealed plastic bags containing £34,500, with additional bundles of euros and sterling amounting to approximately £7,000 hidden behind a tachograph panel.
The VW Touran was later intercepted at Liphook services on the A3, driven by the alleged network ringleader, Goran Jalal, 37, from Bradford. The NCA is currently seeking Jalal, who absconded after his arrest. Kamaran Kader, 44, also from Bradford, was found in the passenger seat.
NCA investigators unraveled the conspiracy by examining phone records, which led them to identify other group members and at least two other suspected smuggling incidents into Portsmouth in January and March 2019. Phone data revealed that Pshtewan Ghafour, 37, from Middlesbrough, had traveled to Portsmouth with Jalal and Kader on the same nights Palage arrived by ferry from France.
Fingerprints belonging to Ghafour and Kader were discovered on bags and envelopes containing money seized from Palage’s truck. Phone evidence also implicated Manchester residents Jamal Saied, 38, and Hemin Salih, 37, who were determined to have been in the Chichester area during the 11 March handover.
Following a month-long trial at Bournemouth Crown Court, Palage and Ghafour were found guilty of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. They will be sentenced on 13 April, together with Kader, who entered a guilty plea at an earlier hearing. Saied and Mustafa were convicted of facilitating illegal immigration, while Salih, who absconded prior to the trial, was found guilty in absentia. They will be sentenced on 20 April.
NCA Branch Commander Richard Harrison stated: “This people smuggling group were content to put vulnerable migrants, including children, in the back of refrigerated lorries for hours on end during dangerous Channel crossings” .
“It is clear from the evidence we found that their sole reason was for profit, without any regard to the migrants safety.
“Tackling organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA, and working with our partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved.”
Arrest warrants for Jalal and Salih have been issued. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to contact the NCA at 0370 4967622 or the charity Crimestoppers at 0800 555111.
