An Iranian man who sought asylum in Britain will go on trial in Belgium today, accused of heading a human trafficking organisation that helped smuggle thousands across the Channel.
Hewa Rahimpur, 30, is accused of being a ‘leading person’ in a criminal gang that sourced small boats from Turkey and organising their storage in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands before using them to transport migrants across the Channel.
The accused, who had lived in Ilford, was arrested in May last year at the start of a European-wide police operation that saw the confiscation of 135 boats 1,200 life jackets and thousands of Euros in cash – as well as 40 arrests.
Rahimpur is one of 21 now facing trial in Bruges over alleged ties to the gang, with the other 20 registered as having lived in Germany.
The court will hear that Rahimpur worked from his Britain to organise the logistics of the operation, procuring boats and arranging for them to meet customers in France.
Hewa Rahimpur (left), originally from Iran but now living in Ilford, being detained in an May 2022 NCA operation in Wanstead Park, east London
A 2022 search of a farm near Osnabruck, Germany, where more than 60 boats and 900 life jackets along with outboard motors were recovered, linked to a large-scale human trafficking operation
Rahimpur arrived in Britain in 2016 and claimed asylum as an Iranian Kurd fleeing persecution.
He was given leave to remain in 2020 and set up a barber’s shop, before moving on to a food kiosk in east London a year later.
He was arrested in May 2022 by police from the National Crime Agency and has been charged with being ‘a leading person’ in the criminal organisation.
Last year, the decision was made that he would be extradited to Belgium to face charges of involvement in ‘systematic human smuggling’ offences using small boats.
The indictment against all those accused claims they smuggled children and adults from France to Britain, taking advantage of the ‘vulnerable condition’ of people and bringing ‘unidentified victims’ into crime.
Two people arrested in Belgium also identified Rahimpur as the person who purchased boats and organised their transport to the French coast.
Prosecutors are demanding he repay £157,000, which they say accounts for the ‘capital gains derived directly from the crime’.
The accused will face trial at the main court in Bruges.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Iranian Hewa Rahimpur, 29 who was living in Ilford, appearing in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, central London, as proceedings began for his extradition to Belgium. Picture date: Thursday May 5, 2022
Police from Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands co-ordinated the investigation into the group. Pictured: recovery of equipment during a search in Osnabruck in 2022
Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Deputy Director of Europol, said migrants pay between £2,000 and £9,000 to make the crossing and that the criminal group’s activity generated as much as £51.4 million in 2021 alone.
Andrea Wilson, NCA Deputy Director of Organised Immigration Crime, said at the time of Rahimpur’s arrest: ‘One of the ways we are seeking to disrupt these people smuggling networks is through targeting their supply of boats.
‘Some of the vessels we have seen attempting the Channel crossing have been nothing short of death-traps, held together using gaffer tape and planks of wood.
‘Sadly, we have also seen how these crossings have resulted in fatalities, which is why tackling this criminality is a priority for the NCA and our law enforcement partners both in the UK and overseas.’
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