Steven Ball and Holly Menary prosecuting
Steven Ball and Holly Menary secure convictions against a people smuggler following a two week trial at Preston Crown Court.
The Defendant – Amanj Hasan-Zada – operated a sophisticated people trafficking network to assist Kurdish migrants to cross into Europe and onto the UK. The Defendant faced several counts of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK following with three separate interceptions of dinghies in the English channel in November and December 2023. He had arranged for the passage of 7 migrants who were picked up in British waters by RNLI and Border force without documentation and who claimed asylum upon being processed.
Sentencing the Defendant to 17 years Judge Jefferies KC said that Hasan-Zada was a leading gang member who had engaged in highly sophisticated offending on a commercial scale. He assessed the Defendant’s culpability as high and determined a high risk of harm due to the inherent risks in crossing the English Channel by dinghy during the months of November and December.
The Defendant faces deportation as a result of the sentence passed. Confiscation proceedings and ancillary matters have been adjourned to next year.
Instructed by Sara Drysdale of the Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate, CPS, in association with the National Crime Agency.