4 August 2024, London.
Jalal Tarakhail, 25, and Najib Khan, 39, both from Ilford, and Waqas Ikram, 41, from Dagenham, used GPS trackers to find vehicles with hidden people. Ikram was caught by the NCA at South Mimms services on 30 March 2021. He was trying to put four migrants into an HGV. At the time, Ikram worked for a people-smuggling group led by Md Mokter Hossain, who was later jailed for over 10 years.
Ikram’s iPhone, seized after his arrest, showed chats with Khan and Tarakhail. They charged migrants up to £7,000 each to bring them to the UK. Evidence showed they had helped with several successful and failed lorry crossings in 2019. Ikram and Khan later bought a boat to smuggle migrants over the Channel. Drivers and a manager involved in two failed attempts with 32 migrants were jailed in the Netherlands and France. The NCA proved the crime group was involved and found more chats between Ikram and Khan about using GPS trackers on lorries.
Tarakhail helped build a hidden compartment in a lorry that carried 16 migrants, including 11 children, to Newhaven. He also found storage for other vehicles used for smuggling. Ikram was arrested in 2021 for his role in Operation Symbolry, charged with people-smuggling, and released on bail. Ikram and Khan were detained again in July 2022 and charged with three counts of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. Ikram pleaded guilty, but Khan went to trial and was found guilty.
Tarakhail was arrested in August 2023 at London Gatwick, coming back from Dubai. He was convicted in February 2024. On Friday, 2 August, at Oxford Crown Court, Ikram and Khan were both sentenced to nine years, and Tarakhail was sentenced to four years.