Hewa Rahimpur: Gang leader who smuggled up to 10,000 migrants across Channel jailed
A man granted asylum in east London has been convicted of helping to lead a criminal gang that smuggled up to 10,000 people across the Channel.
Hewa Rahimpur, 30, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined €80,000 at a court in Bruges, Belgium.
He was convicted in one of the biggest people-smuggling trials held in Europe – with 20 out of 21 defendants found guilty.
He was arrested in London more than a year ago after a police operation that involved officers in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as the UK’s National Crime Agency.
Rahimpur arrived in Britain after hiding on a lorry. He initially tried to set up a business as a barber but, after that failed, he instead opened a small food retailer, selling confectionery.
It appeared popular. In fact, many of the customers were actually coming to Rahimpur to pay for trips across the Channel using the Hawala banking system, which leaves almost no trail.
Investigators believe that Rahimpur and his gang charged up to £6,000 for those on the boats, making total profits that sometimes went above £200,000 per crossing.
Pic: National Crime Agency
His gang, in common with other people smugglers, used various social media outlets to find customers but also relied on word of mouth and recommendations from previous passengers.
Craig Turner, the deputy director of the UK’s National Crime Agency, described Rahimpur as “one of the most significant individuals involved in small boat crossings”.
His gang, in common with other people smugglers, used various social media outlets to find customers but also relied on word of mouth and recommendations from previous passengers.
Read more: The hunt for a people smuggling kingpin
Hewa Rahimpur being arrested by officers Pic: NCA
Mr Turner said: “He treated people like a commodity. He just thought about the money, not the safety of the people he was taking across the Channel. That was the business model he profited from.
“He’s a big player. There will be people above him in the OCG [organised crime group] but within the rankings of that group, he is right up there.”
‘Big player’ convicted – but it won’t stop boat crossings
However, Mr Turner admitted that arresting and imprisoning Rahimpur would not stop, or potentially even slow down, the flow of migrants crossing the Channel.
“It’s like a game of Whac-A-Mole… once we take down one, another one pops up in his place,” he said.
“It’s like a vacuum. The thing with these smuggling gangs is that it’s dynamic. They are ever-evolving.”
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How people smuggling works
Read more:
Inside the courtroom for the trial of Rahimpur
Labour vows to ‘smash the gangs’ with Europe’s help
Sunak teams up with Italian PM to demand action on illegal migration
The investigation found evidence of a sprawling criminal network that imported boats, motors, life jackets and other equipment from countries including China and Turkey.
The items were stored in various locations, but the fulcrum of their operations was the German town of Osnabruck.
A police raid there recovered a huge haul of equipment destined to be used in cross-Channel smuggling, as well as firearms and cash.
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Alleged people smuggler on trial
Rahimpur, who claimed asylum in Britain in 2016 after saying he was fleeing persecution in Iran, admitted to processing payments between migrants and smugglers but denied being a central figure, telling the court: “I am not a boss”.
However, Sky News can reveal that when he first arrived in Britain he lied about his identity and that he is in fact a well-known figure in the smuggling world.
Rahimpur, pictured during his arrest, ‘treated people like a commodity’ Pic: NCA
Multiple sources have told us that he is in fact called Hama Khoshnaw and comes from the Iraqi city of Erbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Like many other Iraqi Kurds, he claimed to be Iranian in order to improve his chances of claiming asylum.
When we spoke to a people smuggler in Kurdistan, he recognised Rahimpur immediately from a photograph, telling me: “Yes, I know him – he’s from Erbil”.
Rahimpur has been held in custody in Belgium ever since his extradition from Britain in 2022. He complained about conditions in prison and, at one point, went on hunger strike to protest.
Anthony Joshua missed out on the chance to become a three-time heavyweight world champion after he was stopped by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.
Dubois, 27, knocked down Joshua towards the end of the opening round with an overhand right to the 34-year-old’s chin.
The IBF heavyweight champion then dropped Joshua at the end of round three and twice in the fourth.
A right hook ended the fight with a knockout for Dubois’ first defence of the title.
The fighters went toe to toe at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of a record 96,000 fans.
The 34-year-old was knocked down four times in the opening four rounds, and knocked out in the fifth. Pic: Reuters
Daniel Dubois became IBF champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. Pic: Reuters
‘We came up short’
Minutes after retaining the IBF championship, Dubois shouted to the crowd “are you not entertained?” before saying: “I’m a gladiator, you know?
“I’m just a warrior to the bitter end. I’m just ready to go. I want to go to the top level of this game and reach my potential. God bless you all.”
Joshua said the loss would not stop him from rebuilding despite admitting “we came up short”.
“You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent,” he said.
“I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Dubois’ victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division
Daniel Dubois will feel like he has fulfilled his destiny here at Wembley. His father has trained him to be a champion boxer since he was tiny.
He held the IBF belt, but he has gone in there tonight and defended it in spectacular fashion – he is now in every conversation going forward.
What now for AJ? Can he face rebuilding? And will he even want to?
The Wembley ring walk is notoriously long, and Dubois looked nervous – but so did Joshua, who has done this many times before in front of a full house.
Perhaps he was thinking of what was at stake – the chance to be a three-time heavyweight champion of the world.
But 27-year-old Dubois holds the belt and was keen to prove he was a worthy champion quickly.
Many wondered if Dubois would freeze on the biggest stage: Question asked and answered emphatically.
It was a crushing defeat for Joshua – most were not expecting such a one-sided victory.
Dubois will now most likely take on the winner of Fury v Usyk 2 for all the belts. But the manner of his victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Hearn: AJ will want rematch
Promoter Eddie Hearn then said “it was the first round” where Joshua lost, “after that he was fighting on heart and desire”.
Hearn added: “When you are in there with a massive puncher this is what can happen. He never stopped trying to get up, even when he couldn’t get up.
“Daniel deserves credit, he’s a real world champion. Congratulations to him… I’m sure [Joshua will] exercise that rematch clause, it’s a given, it’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him.”
Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire
British champion Dubois, who before tonight had never fought at Wembley, was elevated to the IBF title holder after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt.
Joshua outweighed Dubois by four pounds, despite a career-heaviest weight for his rival, ahead of the fight.
Among those watching was Tyson Fury, the former WBC heavyweight champion, who took a ringside seat.
Read more from Sky News:
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Liam plays Oasis hits
Fury is set to fight Usyk for the other three titles in a rematch on 21 December.
Ahead of the fight, Liam Gallagher played some of Oasis’ biggest hits to the sold-out crowd.
Pic: PA
Pic: Reuters
The 52-year-old frontman walked on to a massive cheer and said “yes Wembley vibes in the air,” before launching into Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, Supersonic and Cigarettes & Alcohol.
He and Noel Gallagher will play Wembley for their first of seven reunion shows at the stadium on 25 July – 307 days away.
Other famous faces ringside were Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, former boxer Ricky Hatton, Spice Girl Emma Bunton and Love Island presenter Maya Jama.
UK
Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman
The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.
The former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94, was described as a “monster” earlier this week by lawyers representing 37 alleged sexual abuse victims.
The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.
Princess Diana on the quay of the residence of Mohamed al Fayed in Saint Tropez on 20 July 1997. File pic: AP
“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.
Mohamed al Fayed during a match at Craven Cottage stadium in 2013: File pic: PA
In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.
She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.
“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Princess Diana, Prince William (right) and Prince Harry (left) in Saint Tropez on 14 July 1997. File pic: AP
Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”
“The rest is history,” he said.
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations
Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has said it is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.
Mohamed al Fayed waves a Fulham scarf in front of supporters in 2012. Pic: Reuters
However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.
“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
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Body found in search for missing TV chaplain
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‘The door was locked behind me’
A former Harrods employee told Sky News she was summoned to Fayed’s apartment when she began working for the department store at 19 years old.
She was told the meeting was a “job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view,” she said.
“I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Read more: ‘One of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation’
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.
Lily Allen says she had her children “for all the wrong reasons,” at a “high pressure” point in her career when she felt “overwhelmed”.
The singer and actress had her two daughters, Marnie, 12 and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper when she was in her mid-20s.
By the time she became a mum, she’d already had hit singles including Smile and The Fear, released two studio albums and received a Brit Award for best British female solo artist.
Speaking about motherhood on the BBC podcast Miss Me?, which Allen hosts with her long-time friend Miquita Oliver, she said: “I think I had children for all the wrong reasons, really.
“Because I was yearning for unconditional love, which I haven’t felt in my life since I was a child.”
The now 39-year-old star added: “And also, my career was at such high speed, high pressure, and I felt like very overwhelmed by what was happening. I just didn’t get much respite you know?
“And I felt like the only way to stop people hassling me was to say, ‘It’s not about me, actually this is about this other person that’s inside me’.
When asked by Oliver if it worked, Allen says: “Yeah, they did leave me alone. I don’t think I really understood what was happening, what I got myself into.”
The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she went on to discuss her own childhood.
“My mum, bless her, had children really early as well, and she really struggled. But she doesn’t really talk about the struggle. And so… She inadvertently gaslit me into thinking it was, you know, easy.
“You just sort of throw the kid over your shoulder and you get on with it.
“Her job was very static, and in one place and went to an office and mine wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t easy.”
Allen is married to Stranger Things star David Harbour
The ‘nasty scars’ caused by absent parents
Allen previously told the Radio Times podcast that while she loves her children, having them “ruined her career”.
She said her decision to prioritise them over her pop career was a decision she made so as not to inflict the “nasty scars” of being an “absent” parent onto them.
She also said the myth of having it all “really annoyed” as it simply was not true.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Allen, whose younger brother is Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, married Stranger Things star David Harbour in 2020.
Away from her music career, Allen has branched out into acting over the last few years, starring in two plays in London’s West End, and winning a role in Sky drama Dreamland last year.
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