"Ringleader Madjid Belabes, 54, made nearly 290,000 running the cabbies' plot that saw North African migrants across the border. Belabes - who charged 1,200 a time - facilitated 26 trips to mainland Europe between December 2022 and September 2023. The father-of-four was also seen transporting migrants along with those he recruited to help."
"The four Algerian nationals would collect migrants in London and deliver them to waiting trucks in lay-bys and service stations in Kent for the onward leg. Belabes used taxi drivers because if stopped by police they would have a credible reason for having multiple people inside."
"Algerian-born Belabes, of Camberwell Grove, Camberwell, south-east London, was jailed for 10 years and nine months in November for people smuggling and possessing 11,000 in cash. At Kingston Crown Court on Friday, associate Samir Zerguine, 52, of Flint Street, Elephant and Castle, received two years in jail."
A criminal syndicate operated by Madjid Belabes, an Uber Eats driver, smuggled North African migrants across the UK-France border between December 2022 and September 2023. Belabes recruited four taxi drivers to collect migrants in London and transport them to waiting lorries at Kent service stations and lay-bys. The operation facilitated 26 trips, with one attempt involving 58 Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan nationals. Belabes charged £1,200 per migrant and earned approximately £290,000. Taxi drivers were used because police stops would appear routine. National Crime Agency investigators identified the gang through mobile phone records. Belabes received 10 years and 9 months imprisonment; associates received sentences ranging from 23 months to suspended terms.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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