Five men - including one from Nottingham - have been jailed for a total of almost 24 years for running a large-scale people smuggling ring. The gang brought nearly 2,000 Kurdish migrants, including children, into the UK hidden in the back of lorries.
Manchester Crown Court heard how Tarik Namik, 45, from Oldham, headed up the organised crime group which became subject of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation in 2017. Hardi Alizada, 32, of Potters Hollow, Bulwell, travelled out to Europe to co-ordinate from there.
Namik operated a sophisticated, lucrative criminal enterprise transporting migrants from Iraq and Iran and had connections with other people smugglers overseas. Working alongside him and Alizada were Hajar Ahmed, 39, from Manchester, and Soran Saliy, 32, from Stoke, who would help co-ordinate the UK leg of the operation.
