Convicted Migrant Smuggler Used Cheese and Onion Cargo to Evade UK Border Checks

Iraqi national, Twana Jamal, allegedly used cheese and onions to smuggle into the UK. (Credit: Wolverhampton Crown Court/Wolverhampton Crown Court)

A convicted Iraqi people smuggler who prosecutors said earned up to £100,000 (approximately $136,000 USD) a week transporting migrants across the English Channel by hiding them inside lorries carrying cheese and onions has been found living in Leicestershire while seeking asylum in the UK, according to a BBC Radio 4 Intrigue: To Catch a King investigation.

Twana Jamal was jailed for five years in France in 2016 after prosecutors said he ran a major people-smuggling network near Dunkirk, charging migrants between £4,500 and £5,000 (approximately $6,100–$6,800 USD) each for a crossing to Britain. They said the produce emitted carbon dioxide, making it more difficult for border officers using carbon dioxide detection equipment to identify people hidden inside the vehicles.