A man from Redbridge was part of a gang that charged refugees £7,000 each to smuggle them into Britain in lorries. Jalal Tarakhail, 24, was arrested as part of an investigation into a crime group that used GPS trackers to follow vehicles they had hidden people in.
On Monday, February 26, he was found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration into the UK. He was joined by co-conspirators Najib Khan, 39, from Ilford, Redbridge and Waqas Ikram, 41, from Dagenham.
Ikram was caught during a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation at South Mimms services on March 30, 2021. He was trying to break into a lorry to put four migrants inside without the driver knowing.
At the time, Ikram was working for a people smuggling group led by Mokter Hossain, who was later jailed for over 10 years as part of the NCA’s Operation Symbolry.
However, an iPhone belonging to Ikram, seized after his arrest, had chats with Khan and Tarakhail on it. These chats showed their involvement in another criminal network, charging migrants up to £7,000 each to bring them to the UK, reports MyLondon.
They were involved in many crossings into the UK via lorry in 2019, evidence showed. Ikram and Khan then bought a rigid hull inflatable boat to smuggle migrants to the UK across the English Channel.
Drivers and a transport manager who were part of two early failed attempts involving a total of 32 migrants were put behind bars in the Netherlands and France. The NCA showed that the crime group had been involved in both attempts, and found more chats between Ikram and Khan showing they were using GPS trackers to follow lorries that had been broken into without the drivers knowing.
Tarakhail’s role was wide-ranging. Messages showed that he was involved in the building of a hiding place that hid 16 migrants within the back of a truck, all of whom were kept safe after being found at the Hook of Holland port.
He also helped organise a hiding place in a lorry that was later found to have 16 migrants inside, 11 of whom were children, on their way to Newhaven, East Sussex.
Ikram was arrested by the NCA for his role in Operation Symbolry in 2021, charged with people smuggling crimes and let out on bail by the court. Both he and Khan were held in connection with more crimes by the NCA in July 2022 and charged with three counts of planning to help illegal immigration.
Ikram admitted to the charge, but Khan went to trial and was later found guilty. Tarakhail was arrested in August 2023 at Gatwick Airport, coming back to the UK from Dubai.
After a four-week trial, ending on Monday (February 26), he was found guilty of one count of planning to help illegal immigration.
NCA lead investigating officer Robert Macleod said: “These individuals treated humans as a commodity and had no regard for the safety or wellbeing of those they were transporting. Originally focussed on HGVs, Ikram and Khan switched their attention to small boats showing clear intentions to continue their illegal work, maximise their profits and risk the lives of many more people.”
“The dangers these types of organised crime groups pose is clear, which is why they are a focus for the NCA. We work tirelessly with partners in the UK and overseas to disrupt and dismantle the networks involved in people smuggling, pursuing every avenue available to save lives, and are glad that today’s result brought about justice in this case.”
