A criminal network that smuggled migrants from Britain to France in lorries claimed they "were simply doing the Government's job for them by transporting migrants out of Britain into France", a court heard.
Seven members of the London-based gang received sentences totalling 70 years in prison for conducting up to 20 runs from Dover to Calais between February and October 2023.
The operation represents a rare instance of reverse Channel crossings, with migrants being transported from the UK back to France.
Rebecca Austin, prosecuting, said the gang claimed they “were simply doing the Government’s job for them by transporting migrants out of Britain into France”.
She said: "The defendants claimed their actions were somehow removing migrants from Britain."
"But these defendants’ actions were far from removing migrants. They created an industry where people would come to Britain in order to illegally cross the Channel."
Ringleader Azize Benaniba, 41, an Algerian national, was jailed for just under 13 years by Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh.
Judge Curtis-Raleigh said: “This was an extremely serious conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state. This was a long-lived conspiracy over eight months, encompassing 20 events."
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NCA
|A criminal network that smuggled migrants from Britain to France in lorries claimed they 'were simply doing the Government's job for them by transporting migrants out of Britain into France', a court heard
The gang charged migrants £1,200 each for the journey, with children as young as five among those smuggled in lorries.
Videos captured children screaming, believing they were being sent to their deaths.
Some lorries used were unrefrigerated and airtight, creating severe risks of overheating and suffocation for those hidden inside.
The migrants, primarily from French-speaking North African countries, had entered Britain on tourist visas permitting stays of up to six months.
NCA
|They were then packed into lorries at locations near Dover before being transported across the Channel to Calais, where they apparently hoped to settle
They were then packed into lorries at locations near Dover before being transported across the Channel to Calais, where they apparently hoped to settle.
The gang's operations began to unravel on February 21, 2023, when French border police discovered 58 migrants hidden in a lorry at Calais after arriving from the UK, prompting an NCA investigation.
On September 6, 2023, officers intervened to rescue 39 migrants, including women and children, who had been loaded into an airtight refrigerated lorry trailer at a lay-by in Sandwich, Kent.
Some required medical attention, including a child.
NCA
|The gang members were arrested in coordinated dawn raids across north London on March 20 last year
The gang members were arrested in coordinated dawn raids across north London on March 20 last year.
According to Hauts-de-France prefecture data, 93 migrants were arrested for illegal crossings from the UK to France last year.
John Turner, the NCA’s senior investigating officer, said: "These smugglers had no care for the safety or well-being of the people they crammed into lorry trailers – their only concern was making money.
"We’ve seen the fatal consequences of this crime type, as migrants have sadly lost their lives being smuggled across borders on land and at sea.
"Our thorough investigation has safeguarded hundreds of migrants who were put in serious danger and has now led to jail terms for 12 members of a prolific people-smuggling network."
NCA
|Ringleader Azize Benaniba, 41, an Algerian national, was jailed for just under 13 years
He added: “These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities, and we know the gangs and drivers involved in outbound smuggling are often involved in inbound smuggling too.
"Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA and, alongside our international law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our efforts to dismantle these networks wherever they operate."
Janine Baugh, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a highly organised group, which tried to smuggle migrants to France more than 20 times.
"They put the lives of people at risk – often in inhumane conditions – just to profit off others.
"We presented the court with a video of people screaming to be let out of a trailer, which demonstrates these poor conditions.
"The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work with our partners at home and overseas and play a vital role in the Border Security Command in order to bring those involved in organised immigration crime to justice.”