Overview
- Maidstone Crown Court handed down the sentence on February 25 after Karim’s June 2024 guilty plea, with the judge saying he played a leading role.
- The National Crime Agency described Karim as a prolific facilitator responsible for moving hundreds of migrants to the UK.
- Karim was identified after a yacht ran aground near Rye in 2022, where CCTV captured landings and Border Force detained 14 people within two hours.
- Phone evidence showed a network spanning northern Europe and the Middle East, moving people from Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo and Bosnia via Romania and Hungary using HGVs, small boats, yachts and false visas for flights.
- Messages detailed fees of about £800–£1,000 to enter the EU and higher charges to reach the UK, including £1,650 per HGV crossing and a £24,000 lorry attempt, with a November 2022 Calais stop finding two Iraqis hidden in a trailer.