Summary
Two men, Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir, ran a people-smuggling operation from a car wash in Wales, smuggling about 100 migrants to Europe each week for two years. They have been sentenced to 19 years in prison for their roles in this operation, which used a Middle Eastern money-transfer system called Hawala banking. The scheme involved a tiered service model where migrants could rate their journeys, similar to online travel reviews.
Key Facts
- Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir operated a people-smuggling operation from a car wash in Caerphilly, Wales.
- They smuggled around 100 migrants to Europe weekly for two years.
- The operation was described as a "Tripadvisor for people smugglers" due to migrants rating their journeys.
- They used a money-transfer system called Hawala, popular in the Middle East, to finance the operation.
- The scheme was part of a larger organized crime group moving migrants from countries like Iraq, Iran, and Syria to Europe.
- The operation had a tiered service with different prices, offering options like air travel with fake passports or basic travel in lorries.
- NCA investigators estimated that more than 400 migrants were smuggled in just six months.
- Most profits remain unrecovered as the Hawala system keeps funds largely untraceable and in the original countries.
