Overview
- Hop Nguyen was jailed for 12 years and Hoang Nguyen for 10 years and six months at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, with deportation orders to follow.
- Prosecutors said the pair used Facebook ads that directed contacts to the Zalo messaging app to sell small‑boat places from France.
- Ledgers listed payments against about 250 names, pointing to at least 250 journeys and potential receipts near £750,000.
- NCA surveillance seized phones, SIM cards and £8,147 in cash and officers stopped Hop Nguyen at Euston in February 2024 with three recent arrivals.
- Investigators say the duo worked within a wider European crime group, with a linked member jailed last week and platform takedowns of smuggling posts continuing.