An Egyptian-born fisherman who arrived in Britain on a small boat has been unmasked as one of the country's most prolific people smugglers, operating a £12million criminal enterprise from his taxpayer-funded flat.
Ahmed Ebid, 42, known as "Captain Ahmed" on Facebook, is expected to receive a lengthy prison sentence at Southwark Crown Court after becoming the first person in Britain convicted of smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean.
Ebid was granted benefits and housed in an art deco-style block in Isleworth, southwest London.
He illegally crossed the Channel with his wife and young daughter, despite having previously served jail time in Italy for drug trafficking.
Migrants arriving at the Italian island of Lampedusa. Ebid charged his passengers an average of £3,300 each
Reuters
From his London home, the small boat migrant masterminded an operation that transported approximately 3,800 migrants, including women and children, to Europe from Libya on just seven crossings of overcrowded fishing vessels.
His clients were charged an average of £3,300 for the crossing.
The National Crime Agency believes some eventually made their way to Britain after landing on Italian shores.
Ebid's criminal enterprise was uncovered when officers raided his apartment in June 2023.
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The National Crime Agency believes some eventually made their way to Britain after landing on Italian shores
PAThey discovered two notebooks – one containing payment records and another filled with Mediterranean coordinates.
Investigators ultimately caught "Captain Ahmed" by linking his London-based mobile number to satellite phones used to make distress calls from the boats to the Italian coastguard.
The case highlights a shift in strategy by the government and law enforcement agencies to tackle people smuggling gangs "thousands of miles from the small boat launches in northern France."
Earlier this year, four suspected smugglers were arrested in Libya based on intelligence gathered by the NCA, which is understood to have deployed officers in the region for the first time.
The case highlights a shift in strategy by the government and law enforcement agencies to tackle people smuggling gangs
GB NewsRick Jones, a deputy director at the NCA, said: "The fight against organised immigration crime is not limited to the English Channel,.
"We are working to target, disrupt and dismantle these criminal networks wherever they operate."
The Mediterranean crossing, known as the "central Mediterranean route," is one of the world's most dangerous.
It claimed almost 25,000 lives since 2014, with 382 deaths already this year, according to UN figures.
