Harrowing new photos reveal the cramped space where a gang hid vulnerable migrants inside lorries as they're jailed for people smuggling.
Seven men have been jailed for a total of 24 years for conspiracy to traffic illegal immigrants following a lengthy Metropolitan Police investigation.
A team led by detective Constable Steve Willis uncovered the organised crime group taking Albanian nationals in lorries to London and beyond for 'employment and financial status'.
Migrants seeking a new life in Britain were forced into a tiny space near the front of the vehicles for the journey. It's not known how many hours or days they spent inside the lorries, nor is it known how many people had to share the space.
DC Willis said in his 30 years in the force he had never been to court with more evidence, but the hardest part was putting together a case for the jury.
Of the seven who were charged, three pleaded guilty and four were found guilty by unanimous verdict after a four week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in May 2023, reported MyLondon.
The 'painstaking' investigation, involving surveillance, communication data, and up to 120 detectives on one day, started after a local policing team found intelligence from a cannabis factory bust in Brent, North London.
Police then discovered a group of Albanian men were using Romanian lorry drivers to bring people from Albania to the UK, under the nose of the haulage company.
"This included, Romanian registered goods vehicles entering into the UK unusually via Dunkirk to Dover with Albanian males hidden in the cab area," said a Metropolitan Police statement.
"These vehicles then stopped at services on their legitimate routes in the South East of England and were met by an individual linked to the OCG (organised criminal gang)."
The network stretched from would-be migrants in Albania to lorry drivers in Belgium, middlemen in London and south east England and sponsors who put people to work in cannabis factories in Wellingborough, Lincolnshire.
From August 2020 detectives targeted their investigation in Southgate, Enfield, and motorway service areas in south east England and Lincolnshire.
They observed the lorries entering the UK via Dunkirk to Dover, then stopping at their usual rest stops to be met by someone from the crime group.
The jury were shown evidence of cash given to lorry drivers, including a £10,000 'brick' taken as payment by one Romanian man for smuggling someone in his cab.
Police spent months looking at a man who came to the UK illegally on April 2, 2021, only referring to him as the 'Good Friday Man' because of the date he arrived. He was later named as Arlin Leka from Enfield, who established himself as the leader of the crime group as the investigation progressed.
Another subject of the probe became known as 'Heavy Metal Man' because of the T-shirt he was seen wearing. The illegal migrant was seen taken to Sports Direct to buy new clothes before starting work at a cannabis factory in Enfield. This was typical of smuggled men who would often be taken to Southgate to be passed on to other Albanians.
With the evidence gathered, officers raided properties in Barnet, Enfield, and Northamptonshire on May 15, 2021. On one street in Wellingborough police found two stash houses and £12,000 in cash, while in London they discovered documentation for the illegal migrants in the bedside table of a suspect.
Police also found messages where migrants had provided their height and weight to the crime group to prove they would fit in or under the bunk area behind the driver. After hiding to get through the port, the migrants would then sit next to the driver as they drove through the UK.
"They're businessmen. They are not people who see themselves as criminals," DC Willis told MyLondon as he recalled the interviews.
"They see themselves, I believe, as businessmen trying to better themselves. Some were reluctant to say anything, and some did try to defend their roles and say they weren't part of it, but the evidence was overwhelming."
The seven men were charged with offences in May, 2021 and later appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court. Three of the offenders immediately pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy, while the rest went to trial.
Pleading guilty was Dimitraki Nika, 35, a Greek National living in Enfield, who was sentenced to four years for his part travelling to the service areas and receiving the men.
Arlin Leka, 29, an Albanian National of Ashfield Parade, based in Enfield, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years for arranging the passages into the UK and travelling to the service areas and receiving the men, and possession of criminal property, namely £13,000 cash.
And Doru-Emil Moldovan, 32, a Romanian national admitted his offence and was sentenced to 20 months for his role as a lorry driver and possession of criminal property, namely £9,980 cash.
Four further members of the gang were found guilty of conspiracy to do an act to facilitate the Commission of Breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national following a six-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
Kristian Agolli, 35, from Enfield, was sentenced to three years and three months for receiving smuggled males, while Aldis Cseplye, 33, from Hornsey, was sentenced to two years and nine months for receiving smuggled males.
Sorin Holerca, 40, of Swanscombe, was sentenced to four years and six months for co-ordinating transport and Jozef Szekely, 33, a Romanian resident was sentenced to two years for his role as a lorry driver.
While it is believed none of the other Albanian males who illegally entered the UK were victims of human trafficking, each paying between £20,000 and £24,000 in cash to travel to the UK, DCI Laura Hillier told MyLondon where money is involved there is normally exploitation.
"There was no evidence, but with this type of crime there's always going to be some vulnerability, threat or fear with family back in Albania," she said.
"I think personally when money is going from one person to another and people collecting people from lorries there's always going to be vulnerability and exploitation. We did not find evidence in this case, but ultimately there's always going to be some debt bond that exists in these crime types."
One man who travelled illegally to the UK was also arrested on May 15, 2021 and received a custodial sentence after pleading guilty to entering the UK in contravention of a deportation order. He had previously been deported from the UK.
A number of other Albanian males were discovered in two addresses in Wellingborough on May 15 2021, they were dealt with by the UK's Immigration Service.
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."
