A high-profile people smuggler believed to be behind thousands of small boat crossings has been arrested, but it appears a BBC investigation led to the arrest rather than direct UK government action
Sir Keir Starmer has been hit by criticism over his aim to ‘smash the illegal smuggling gangs organising small boat crossings into the UK. TalkTV host Kevin O’Sullivan slammed the the PM for not doing enough.
And he argued that a BBC investigation which led to the arrest of a prominent people smuggler suspected of orchestrating thousands of small boat journeys was more affective than either the government or the police.
He said: “Breaking news, a high-profile people smuggler, identified in a BBC investigation, has been arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan. A network run by Kardo Jaf, who operates under the alias Kardo Ranya, is believed to have transported thousands of illegal migrants in small boats across the English Channel into the UK in recent years.
“He was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences by officers of the Kurdistan Regional Security Agency and remains in custody as investigations continue.” .
The host recognised the development as encouraging, though emphasised the Prime Minister played no role in achieving it.
He questioned: “I thought we had a government that was going to ‘smash the gangs’? What’s the government doing about this? What are the police doing about police smuggling?”
“Not the police, not the government. ‘Smash the gangs’, he couldn’t smash an egg old Keir Starmer.”
Jaf, 28, had been active for several years using multiple false identities, making it harder for law enforcement authorities to secure an international arrest warrant.
When confronted by the BBC regarding the accusations, Jaf rejected being a people trafficker and stated he had only ever provided guidance on departing Iraq, insisting he did not consider he had broken any law.
The UK’s National Crime Agency’s Director General of Operations Rob Jones described the case as a “potentially very significant arrest of an individual who has been under active investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies because of his links to people smuggling”, as per the Express.
The Government have brought in measures to attempt to disincentivise small boat crossings.
Since June 2024, the government has returned more than 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK – a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and a 13% increase in overall returns compared to the previous year.
After a change in law meant that for the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face can be detained and returned to France.
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