Suspected people-smuggling gang leader goes on trial

Published

1 year ago

September 6, 2023

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A man who sought asylum in Britain from Iran will go on trial today in Belgium, accused of leading an organised crime gang that helped smuggle thousands of people across the English Channel.

Hewa Rahimpur, 30, is alleged to have led a gang that criss-crossed Europe, sourcing boats, engines and life-jackets for migrant crossings.

The gang is claimed to have brought the items into Germany, using suppliers in Turkey and China, before later driving them to northern France.

There the boats were handed over to groups of migrants waiting near the sea, who were given rudimentary instructions about how to use the boats to try to get to Britain.

Rahimpur is one of 21 people who are facing trial in Bruges. The other 20 were all registered as living in Germany, but Rahimpur had made his home in Ilford, east London.

He was arrested in May 2022 by police from the National Crime Agency.

Rahimpur has been charged with being “a leading person” in a criminal organisation committed to smuggling people across the European Union.

The court will be told that, operating from Britain, he arranged the logistics of the people-smuggling network, co-ordinating the purchase of boats and other materials and then arranged for them to be delivered to France at just the right time to meet pre-arranged groups of paying customers.

Rahimpur’s arrest was part of a co-ordinated investigation carried out by police in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

According to the NCA, a total of 135 boats, 45 outboard engines and more than 1,200 life jackets were seized. Around half the boats were being stored at a single location – a farm in Osnabruck, Germany.

The NCA’s regional head of investigations, Jacque Beer, said the crime group was “one of the most significant criminal networks involved in supplying boats to people smugglers”.

The indictment against Rahimpur, in common with the all defendants, claims they smuggled children and adults, took advantage of “the vulnerable condition” of people, endangered lives and brought “unidentified victims” into the realm of crime.

The allegation says the crimes were so common that they became “a habit”.

As well as facing a lengthy jail term, and deportation, prosecutors have demanded that Rahimpur repay £157,000 – a sum described as “the capital gains derived directly from the crime”.

Rahimpur arrived in Britain in 2016 and claimed asylum, saying he was an Iranian Kurd who would face persecution if he was returned home. Four years later, he was given leave to remain, and he set up a barber’s shop with a friend.

The business struggled and Rahimpur turned his attention to starting an east London food kiosk, called Manor Park Retails, in 2021. The following year, he was arrested while driving to work.

The trial of the men will be held at the main court in Bruges in front of legal teams who are familiar with allegations of people smuggling.

The case has officially been scheduled for a single day, but the court has been reserved until the end of the week.

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More than a dozen people missing after tourist boat sinks off coast of Egypt

Published

7 hours ago

November 25, 2024

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More than a dozen people missing after tourist boat sinks off coast of Egypt

More than a dozen people are missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, officials have said.

The boat, Sea Story, was carrying 45 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 14 crew.

Authorities are searching for 17 people who are still missing, the governor of the Red Sea region said on Monday, adding that 28 people had been rescued.

The vessel was part of a diving trip when it went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam.

Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.

The boat had departed from Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

Some survivors had been airlifted to safety on a helicopter, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht to sink.

The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.

According to its maker’s website, the Sea Story was built in 2022.

The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.

The organisation had advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.

Some tourist companies have stopped or limited operations on the Red Sea due to the potential dangers from conflicts in the region.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

Published

19 hours ago

November 25, 2024

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

Published

21 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.