A gang who exploited border security to smuggle Albanian illegal migrants into the UK in lorries have been jailed for a total of 24 years.
Dimitraki Nika and Arlin Leka’s syndicate hid the men in a space behind the driver’s fold-down bunk on trips across the Channel, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard on Thursday.
Staff working for legitimate Romanian haulage firms had been bribed to transport stowaways, some paying around £24,000, into Dover from Dunkirk or Calais.
The migrants were then collected at Clacket Lane, Thurrock or Maidstone service stations before being put to work in cannabis factories in north London and Wellingborough, Northamptonshire in 2020.
Scotland Yard believe the gang’s “simple business model” operated “for a few years” using various methods of entry.
In one text sent to Albanians on Facebook Messenger, the criminals boasted “99 per cent” success once a price was agreed.
Migrants made their own way to a rendezvous in Brussels, Belgium.
Detective Constable Steve Willis, from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command, told the Standard: “Once they were clear of the UK port, whoever was hidden in the cab could climb out and then sit next to the driver.
“The driver would continue on their legitimate route with their load to a service area in south east of England and be met by a member of the Albanian organised crime network.”
DC Willis said Nika, 35, Leka, 29, and their associates had “a large amount of success”, draping themselves in designer clothes and then laundering cash out of Britain.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier added when police and the Home Office put the gang under covert surveillance members were “well established and well-rehearsed”.
She said: “They were presenting on occasions as a second driver and because it was a legitimate haulage company that had all the checks in place, that was a reasonable explanation when two people were in the cab.
“Once we identified that, we were able to put different processes in place.”
In August 2020, detectives received a tip-off from safer neighbourhoods officers who closed down cannabis factories in Brent and Southgate.
Around 20 illegal immigrants were arrested during raids in May 2021 and handed over to the UK Immigration Enforcement. None were victims of human trafficking, police said.
After pleading guilty to conspiracy, Greek national Nika, of Newsholme Drive, Winchmore Hill, was jailed for four years; Leka, an Albanian of Ashfield Parade, Southgate, six years; and Romanian lorry driver Doru-Emil Moldovan, 32, of no fixed address, 20 months.
For their part, Kristian Agolli, 35, of Dudrich Mews, Enfield, got three years and three months; Aldis Cseplye, 33, of Pembroke Road, Hornsey, two years and nine months; Sorin Holerca, 40, of High Street, Swanscombe, Kent, four years and six months; and a second Romanian lorry driver Josef Szekely, 33, two years.
They last four were convicted following a six-week trial under a new law of facilitating a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national.
DC Willis added: “This is the first time this legislation has been used in the Met.
“As a team we recognised this criminality and worked together to identify the correct newly introduced legislation to enable us to charge these men.
“This was a highly complex, protracted investigation which would not have been possible without the support of our partners at the Home Office.”
Chris Foster, deputy director from the Home Office’s criminal and financial investigation unit, said: “This organised crime group is now behind bars thanks to the work between the Home Office and Metropolitan Police.
“We will continue to work closely with our policing partners to disrupt people-smuggling gangs and ensure those who abuse our laws face the consequences of their crimes.”
