September 23, 2022
Britain says it has arrested an Iranian national living in London who is believed to be the leader of an international criminal group supplying small boats to people smugglers taking migrants across the English Channel from France to England.
The numbers of migrants crossing the busy shipping lane is at record levels, with many dying during the crossing because the boats are too flimsy for the choppy waters of the Channel.
Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said May 4 it had arrested Hewa Rahimpur, whom it called the “alleged small boats kingpin,” at his workplace in east London, following a joint operation by UK and Belgian law enforcement agencies.
It said Rahimpur, 29, was wanted in Belgium on suspicion of being the leading figure in a network that prosecutors there say is involved in “supplying significant numbers of small boats to people smugglers.”
Rahimpur is accused of sourcing boats in Turkey and getting them delivered to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
He then allegedly directed members of his organization to take them to the Channel coast in northern France for use by migrants.
Andrea Wilson, NCA Deputy Director of Organized Immigration Crime, said, “One of the ways we are seeking to disrupt these people smuggling networks is through targeting their supply of boats. Some of the vessels we have seen attempting the Channel crossing have been nothing short of death-traps, held together using gaffer tape and planks of wood.
“Sadly, we have also seen how these crossings have resulted in fatalities, which is why tackling this criminality is a priority for the NCA and our law enforcement partners both in the UK and overseas.’
