A people smuggling kingpin believed to be behind hundreds of illegal ‘small boat’ migrant crossings to the UK has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Iraqi asylum seeker Ramal Briem, 33, ran the international trafficking operation from his home in Wolverhampton before he was snared by the National Crime Agency.

Messages on his phone showed he and another gang member, known as ‘Kevin’, had discussed the movement of “chickens” or people waiting for illegal crossings in northern France. Briem is understood to have helped hundreds of migrants make such journeys to the UK.

‘Kevin’ was one of four crime group members arrested by the UK version of the FBI in April 2024 and is undergoing extradition proceedings as he is wanted in France. The other three were charged in the UK.

In one recovered exchange, the pair discuss fees for transporting migrants after which they agree on a fee of 11 for the price of 10.

Briem himself helped to arrange the transportation of six migrants to Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in March 2024.

Staffordshire Police, who dealt with the incident, only managed to arrest arrested one illegal arrival as the rest fled.

But subsequent investigations showed that Briem’s phone contacted a French number, located in France, which was the same number that attempted to contact Briem when the Netherlands-registered lorry involved in the Staffordshire incident was intercepted.

Briem admitted coming to the UK illegally by small boat in late 2020, after which he claimed asylum and says unable to work legal he found himself struggling financially.

He said he had met ‘Kevin’, who showed an interest in how he came to the UK as he wanted to bring some relatives over from Germany.

Briem also admitted visiting a number of addresses in Croydon and Birmingham to collect large sums of cash which he later gave to an unknown man in a car.

On one occasion, he claims to have collected a total of £16,000 (consisting of separate amounts of £9,000 and £7,000) from ‘Kevin’ at an address in Croydon, which he was told related to cigarettes. He said that he delivered the cash to another person as instructed, and was paid £300 and £350 in return. The prosecution case was that this money related to his people smuggling activities and not cigarettes.

Briem pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration at Wolverhampton Crown Court in October 2024. He was today sentenced to 10 years and two months imprisonment at Worcester Crown Court.

NCA branch commander Saju Sasikumar said: “The language Ramal Briem used to describe people illustrates his complete disregard for human life.

“To him, migrants were nothing more than a commodity to trade in, regardless of the severe risks they were taking during these dangerous journeys, all for his own financial benefit.

“The migrants themselves may have wanted to come to the UK to establish a better life for themselves and their families. But the fact they chose to use smugglers like Briem to enter the UK clandestinely automatically put them at a far greater risk of being embroiled in debt bondage or modern slavery situations.

“The NCA will continue to work with partners both internationally and domestically, including the CPS, to bring criminals like Ramal Briem to justice and disrupt the organised crime groups behind this evil trade.”

Hilary Ryan, Specialist Prosecutor, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Ramal Briem was part of an international crime group working across Europe to illegally bring migrants into the UK. He offered to arrange spaces on small boats for other organised crime groups.

“My colleagues and I are working around the clock with law enforcement to prosecute those who break our immigration laws and harm community relations to make money for themselves.”

The NCA is currently leading approximately 100 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime or human trafficking, those inflicting the highest harm, and who are the most difficult to reach. Some of these sit right at the top of the NCA’s priority list.

The NCA targets and disrupts organised crime groups at every step of the route, in source countries, in transit countries, near the UK border in France and Belgium, and those operating inside the UK itself.

Last week the Express revealed how an upsurge in illegal migrants from Iraq is expected due to Donald Trump’s ongoing war in the Middle East.