Credit: NCA
Prolific people smuggler Ahmed Ebid has been jailed for 25 years for masterminding the movement of thousands of illegal immigrants across Europe.
The 42-year-old Egyptian – himself an illegal immigrant – was arrested in west London by the National Crime Agency working with Italian officers.
Ebid moved people from North Africa, through Italy, then onto the rest of Europe.
He was working with people smuggling networks in north Africa to organise boats, bringing over hundreds of migrants on extremely dangerous vessels.
On several occasions, he was keeping communication with criminal associates during the crossings.
In one conversation, recorded by NCA surveillance officers, he told an associate that migrants were not allowed to carry phones with them on his boats as he sought to avoid law enforcement.
“Tell them guys anyone caught with a phone will be killed, threw [sic] in the sea,” he said.
One crossing in October 2022 saw more than 640 migrants rescued by the Italian authorities after they tried to cross in a wooden boat from Libya.
It was taken into port in Sicily.
Two bodies were recovered.
In another, 265 migrants were rescued by the Italian coastguard from a 20-metre long fishing boat found adrift in the Mediterranean in early December 2022.
The boat had left Benghazi in Libya.
And in April 2023 two further search and rescue operations were mounted following distress calls to the coastguard – in each case more than 600 migrants were on board each boat.
The NCA has worked closely with the Italian Guardia di Finanza and Italian Coastguard.
They uncovered Ebid’s involvement in at least seven separate crossings in 2022 and 2023 which carried almost 3,800 people into Italian waters.
Each migrant had been charged an average of £3,200, netting the criminals involved more than £12 million in total.
On a phone seized from him after arrest, investigators found images of boats, conversations about the possible purchase of vessels, videos of migrants making the journey, and screenshots detailing money transfers.
Ebid pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to assist illegal immigration in October 2023, but claimed he was only a low-ranking member of the network.
The basis of this plea was disputed by the prosecution, with evidence showing he was a key figure.
Following a “Newton Hearing” at Southwark Crown Court the judge agreed, and Ebid was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A Newton Hearing is held when the two sides in court offer such conflicting evidence a judge sitting alone decides who’s telling the truth.
The judge ruled Ebid held a “significant managerial role within an organised crime group”.
NCA Regional Head of Investigation, Jacque Beer, said:
“Ebid was part of a crime network who preyed upon the desperation of migrants to ship them across the Mediterranean in death trap boats.
“The cruel nature of his business was demonstrated by the callous way he spoke of throwing migrants into the sea if they didn’t follow his rules.
“To him they were just a source of profit.
“He was based in the UK but organising crossings from north Africa.
“A proportion of those he moved to Italy would also have ended up in northern Europe, attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.
“Working with our partners in Italy we were able to evidence his role in organising boats and the migrants to go in them.
“People smuggling is an international crime and, working with our partners both home and abroad, we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved.”
Tim Burton, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:
“Ahmed Ebid played a leading role in a sophisticated operation, which breached immigration laws and endangered lives, for his own and others’ financial gain.
“Vulnerable people were transported on long sea journeys in ill-equipped fishing vessels completely unsuitable for carrying the large number of passengers who were on board.
“His repeated involvement in helping to facilitate these dangerous crossings showed a complete disregard for the safety of thousands of people, whose lives were put at serious risk.”
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said:
“For too long our borders have been undermined by vile people-smuggling gangs putting lives at risk for cash.
“Ebid and his associates preyed on vulnerable individuals, with hundreds being crammed onto dangerous boats and charged an extortionate fee for their transport.
“This government has introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to strengthen the UK’s border security, introducing new counter-terror style powers for law enforcement enabling earlier and faster disruption of organised crime.
“We are steadfast in our mission to protect lives and ensure criminals gangs face the full force of the law.”
