Summary
Ahmed Ebid, an Egyptian fisherman living in the UK, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for smuggling around 3,800 people from North Africa to Europe. The operation involved illegal boat crossings, and Ebid played a high-level managerial role, participating in dangerous and exploitative practices.
Key Facts
- Ahmed Ebid was involved in smuggling about 3,800 people from North Africa to Italy.
- He was part of a £12 million (British currency) illegal boat crossing operation.
- Ebid was the first person in the UK to be convicted for smuggling people across the Mediterranean from Africa.
- He had previously served five years in jail in Italy for attempted drug smuggling.
- After arriving in the UK in 2022, Ebid was living in government-funded housing and applied for asylum.
- Ebid's smuggling operation used overcrowded fishing boats and involved bribing officials and threatening violence.
- The National Crime Agency (NCA) linked his activities to satellite phone calls made during crossings.
- Ebid admitted to facilitating illegal immigration to the EU but argued against the scale of his role.
