A London-based people smuggling gang which crammed ‘screaming’ migrants into refrigerated lorries has been dismantled. A National Crime Agency uncovered chilling videos of people screaming for help in the back of a locked trailer.
Some 12 members of the group which took migrants on dangerous journeys from the UK to France have been convicted. Nine pleaded guilty, while a three members were found guilty on June 16 – following a three-week trial is Isleworth Crown Court.
Algerian national Azize Benaniba, 41, was uncovered as the gang leader, and he was supported by lieutenants Mahmoud Haidous, 52, Abed Karouz, 30, Amor Ghabbari, 32, and Mohamed Abdelhadi, 50, who hired a network of willing drivers to make the runs.
Their operation involved bringing North African migrants to the UK on tourist visas. Once here they were packed into lorries and smuggled into France via Dover, each charged £1,200 for the trip.
The NCA says the group loaded hundreds of migrants, some as young as five, into frigerated and unrefrigerated lorry trailers. Investigators discovered more than 20 separate smuggling runs which took place between February and October 2023.
The investigation into Benaniba’s gang began in February of that year when 58 migrants were discovered by French border police hidden inside a lorry at Calais having arrived from the UK. Following this, the NCA intercepted multiple lorries travelling to the UK border.
One such occasion on September 6, 2023 saw 39 migrants, including children, rescued from an airtight trailer at a layby in Sandwich, Kent. A few of them required medical attention. In early 2024 the National Crime Agency had uncovered enough information about the ringleaders to take down the operation. This culminated with a coordinated strike at homes across North London on March 20 last year.
In one video found on the phone of an organiser, some migrants can be heard banging on the sides of the trailer, screaming and crying for assistance..
‘Migrants were out in serious danger’
John Turner, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “These smugglers had no care for the safety or wellbeing of the people they crammed into lorry trailers – their only concern was making money. We’ve seen the fatal consequences of this crime type, as migrants have sadly lost their lives being smuggled across borders on land and at sea.
“Our thorough investigation has safeguarded hundreds of migrants who were put in serious danger, and has now led to the convictions of 12 members of a prolific people smuggling network. These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities, and we know the gangs and drivers involved in outbound smuggling are often involved in inbound smuggling too.
“Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA, and alongside our international law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our efforts to dismantle these networks wherever they operate.”
A sentencing date has not yet been confirmed. Below are the defendants charged with smuggling migrants from the UK to France:
- Azize Benaniba, DOB 02/04/1984, of Willesden Lane, London – pleaded guilty ahead of trial
- Abed Karrouz, DOB 12/08/1994, of Brownlow Road, London – pleaded guilty ahead of trial
- Mahmoud Haidous, DOB 15/07/1972, of Oakley Road, London – found guilty 16/06/2025
- Mohamed Bouriche, DOB 15/11/1981, of Redmead Mews, Hayes – found guilty 16/06/2025
- Amor Ghabbari, DOB 27/12/1992, of Maida Hill, London – found guilty 16/06/2025
- Mohamed Abdelhadi, DOB 07/04/1975, of Inderwick Road, London – pleaded guilty ahead of trial
- Defendant #7 [reporting restriction in place on naming] – pleaded guilty ahead of trial
Sign up to our London Court & Crime newsletter for the latest major court updates and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up HERE
