Five men who were part of a gang who circumvented border checks by hiding people in lorries to transport them to France have been found guilty of people smuggling, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
The convictions mean 21 members of the East London-based network have now been brought to justice.
They operated by using minicabs to transport people down from London to Kent, where they were met by HGVs driven by hauliers recruited by and paid for by members of the gang.
Amongst those heading up the people smuggling group was Shuhal Ahmed (aged 44), who charged migrants around £1,400 each to help them dodge border and immigration checks and enter France illegally.
His trusted lieutenant Suhel Ahmed (26) collected cash from those travelling and made payments to taxi drivers employed to take them down to Kent to meet the trucks.
Fellow conspirator Robiul Islam (50) helped organise the taxi drivers and was himself involved in a number of crossings.
The group were in contact with Nicusor Lacatus (54), from Romania, who connected them with a complicit HGV and van driver willing to take people in their vehicles in exchange for a cash kickback.
Overall, the NCA were able to evidence 10 different runs intercepted between July 2025 and January 2026.
Most of the people being transported were in the UK legally at the time, but were attempting to avoid EU visa restrictions.
Most of the gang pleaded guilty to people smuggling, but Suhel Ahmed, along with taxi drivers Md Ali Hossain (43), Syed Ahmed (40), Kamal Chowdhury (47), and Shamim Ahmed (48), all denied the charges. They were convicted of facilitating illegal immigration following a three-week trial at Canterbury Crown Court that concluded on Thursday 22 October.
Suhel Ahmed was jailed for seven years, while Hossain and Syed Ahmed were both given six-year prison sentences. Chowdhury and Shamim Ahmed will be sentenced on Friday 23 October, with the remaining three other men who have already admitted their roles in the network to be sentenced on Tuesday 27 October. Thirteen people have already been handed sentences between two and six years.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer John Turner said:
“The actions of these men threatened the border security of both the UK and France, but also put those they were transporting in grave danger.
“This operation has dismantled this criminal network from top to bottom, from the organisers, recruiters at the top, right down to the corrupt drivers. Every single one of them was motivated by money.
“We know these kinds of gangs regularly seek to recruit lorry and taxi drivers, I hope this case sends out a warning to those who would consider getting involved. It simply isn’t worth it.
“Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, and we are actively seeking to target, disrupt, dismantle the networks involved.”
22 October 2026
