Two organised criminals at the centre of a major people smuggling ring have been convicted for attempting to smuggle Vietnamese nationals into the UK onboard HGVs.
The National Crime Agency was able to disrupt the gang after receiving intelligence they were operating as part of a much wider and highly organised smuggling network.
The criminal operation was run by UK based Vietnamese national Hai Xuan Le, from his flat in the Handsworth area of Birmingham.
National Crime Agency officers put Le and fellow smuggler Habib Behsodi under surveillance, gathering evidence on their activities.
The two men were involved in at least seven smuggling attempts over a two-month period
In a two-month period over the Summer of 2020 the pair were involved in at least seven separate attempts to smuggle illegal immigrants to the UK in the backs of lorries.
The gang would bribe lorry drivers to carry groups of Vietnamese in their trailers.
The drivers used the Eurotunnel and cross-Channel ferries to transport their human cargo to the UK.
Phone evidence heard at their trial proved how 33-year-old Le was part of a wider network, involved in the smuggling of hundreds of people illegally from Vietnam to the UK.
Some of those making the trip relied on a form of debt bondage to fund part, or all of their journey.
Prosecutors said they would pay back the cost of their trip by working illegally in the UK, or working in criminal enterprises like cannabis farms.
From his flat above a nail bar in Grove Lane, Handsworth, Le would use a range of different phone numbers, social media accounts and pseudonyms to arrange for people to be transported to pre-arranged pick-up points in Europe.
They were then loaded onto HGVs in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The lorries, some of which were refrigerated, would then cross the Channel be ferry or by rail, where arrangements were in place to pick up those inside.
Taxi driver Habib Behsodi, 41, from Chatham in Kent, organised the collection of the illegal immigrants, before transporting them to the West Midlands.
On some occasions Hai Xuan Le would also travel down to accompany his fellow Vietnamese nationals.
The gang would also sometimes use genuine and unwitting taxi companies to pick up those smuggled across the Channel and transport them up to the West Midlands.
Le tried to flee his home as National Crime Agency officers raided the property in September 2021.
He initially gave his name as Ho Sy Quoc. But UK authorities were able to establish his true identity through law enforcement colleagues in Vietnam.
The criminal operation was run by UK based Vietnamese national Hai Xuan Le, from his flat in the Handsworth area of Birmingham
Taxi driver Habib Behsodi organised the collection of the illegal immigrants
Following a six-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Le was jailed for seven and a half years, while Behsodi received a two year prison term, suspended for 24 months.
National Crime Agency Branch Commander Mick Pope said: "These two men were part of a people smuggling network who were not just breaching UK border security but also risking the lives of those they transported.
"One text message exchange we recovered as part of this investigation shows migrants being referred to as 'pork' which I think shows the callous nature of those involved.
"For them, the people they were transporting were just a commodity from which they could profit."
In recent years, much of the focus has been on the smuggling of people across the English Channel in small boats, after almost 46,000 arrived by this method last year.
But the use of HGVs to smuggle illegal immigrants remains a key challenge for law enforcement and Border Force, with thousands still arriving in the backs of lorries each year.
And like the use of small boats, HGVs also have their dangers.
National Crime Agency officers put Le and fellow smuggler Habib Behsodi under surveillance
In 2019, 39 Vietnamese nationals were found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry in Grays in Essex.
The group suffocated in the back of the airtight trailer.
But the tragedy did little to dissuade the smuggling gangs from a criminal enterprise worth many millions of pounds.
Most lorry drivers are innocently caught up in people smuggling activities around Calais and numerous other ports and transport hubs.
Even if an HGV driver is unaware that illegal immigrants have sneaked into their trailer, they still face hefty fines if any are found.
Mick Pope said the jailing of Hai Xuan Le and Habib Behsodi was a significant blow to the organised criminal networks involved in people smuggling, but the problem continues to be significant ongoing focus for his officers. “
As an agency, we would view this as an excellent result, as investigating organised immigration crime is never easy.
“But I think that the fact that these two individuals have been found guilty is significant not only for ourselves as an agency, but the law enforcement community.
“We have seen how this kind of criminality can so easily lead to loss of life, which is why we are doing all we can to target and dismantle the criminal networks involved.”