Lambeth man among six charged with trying to smuggle Kurds into Britain illegally

A Lambeth man and five others have been charged as part of a major investigation into an organised criminal network alleged to have smuggled hundreds of Iraqi-Kurdish migrants into the UK.

The group, aged between 27 and 64, were all arrested during a series of raids carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and cops in February 2018.

One is Khaled Mahmud, 47, of Kings Avenue, Lambeth, who is charged with two counts of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law  and two of conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker.

The other five of the men are from the north-east of England.

They stand accused of being part of a Kurdish network which would use lorries to transport people from France, Belgium and the Netherlands into the UK. A number of HGVs were intercepted on their way.

The migrants would be charged between £5,000 and £10,000 for that leg of the journey.

The six are due to appear before Newcastle-upon-Tyne Magistrates Court on Thursday (23 September).

NCA regional head of investigation Mark Spoors said:

“This has been a long and complex investigation, involving partners from across Europe, including law enforcement agencies in France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as here in the UK.

“Since the operation which saw the arrests took place we have worked patiently and diligently to build up evidence which has now led to these charges being authorised by the CPS.

“We remain determined to disrupt and dismantle organised crime networks involved in people smuggling.”

The NCA investigation has been supported by Project Invigor, the UK organised immigration crime taskforce led by the NCA but also including officers from Immigration, Enforcement, Border Force and the CPS. In the UK, Cleveland, Northumbria, Durham, Sussex and the Metropolitan Police have also assisted.

The other men are 

• Marek Sochanic, 27, of Leyburn Street, Hartlepool, charged with (i) conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law, and (ii) conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker
  
• Gurprit Peter Kahlon Singh, 64, of Wheatear Lane, Ingleby Barwick, charged with (i) conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law (two counts), and (ii) conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker (two counts)
• Mohammed Kheder Zada, 40, of Applecross Grove, Wynyard, charged with (i) conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law (four counts), and (ii) conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker (four counts)
• Pareiz Abdullah, 38, of Allensway, Thornaby, charged with (i) conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law, and (ii) conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker
• Bestoon Abdullah Moslih, 38, of Tulip Close, Stockton-on-Tees, charged with (i) conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law, and (ii) conspiring to facilitate for gain the entry into the UK of an asylum seeker