Local mini-cab drivers and a man from Bermondsey were part of a conspiracy to smuggle illegal migrants out of the UK to France in the back of lorries, organised by an Algerian national living in Camberwell, writes Frankie Hills…
The four drivers, two of whom were living in Elephant and Castle, have been sentenced following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
Kingpin Madjid Belabes, 54, from Camberwell is estimated to have netted nearly £290,000 through the scheme, charging £1,200 per person to transport the migrants them from London to mainland France.
He arranged the movement of migrants to mainland Europe 26 times between December 2022 and September 2023. He was also seen transporting migrants along with those he recruited to help.
In one attempt, 58 migrants who were Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan were discovered by officials in France. All those Belabes and his gang transported had been in the UK on tourist visas before the migrants tried to enter France illegally. The migrants entered the UK specifically as a method of entering mainland Europe.
Algerian-born Belabes was jailed for 10 years and nine months last November for people smuggling and possessing criminal property (£11,000 in cash). This month the four drivers, whom the CPS confirmed are mini-cab rather than taxi drivers as was previously stated, were sentenced for their roles in collecting migrants in London and delivering them to waiting lorries in lay-bys and service stations in Kent for the onward leg.
The drivers, who are all Algerian nationals, Samir Zerguine, 52, and Mohamed Issaoun, 49, both from Elephant and Castle; plus Mourad Bouchlaghem, 44, from Brighton and Mohamed Mabrouk, 44, from Paddington admitted to their involvement with the activities of an organised crime group when they appeared at Kingston Crown Court. Meanwhile, a fifth man, Said Bouazza, 56, also an Algerian national and living in Bermondsey made one trip and was convicted on the same charges by a jury.
The defendants were sentenced accordingly:
- Samir Zerguine, 52, of Elephant and Castle, was sentenced to two years in jail.
- Mourad Bouchlaghem, 44, of Brighton, was sentenced to two years in jail suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.
- Mohamed Mabrouk, 44, of Paddington, was sentenced to two years in jail suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work.
- Mohamed Issaoun, 49, of Elephant and Castle, was sentenced to 23 months and one week in jail.
- Said Bouazza, 56, of Bermondsey, was found guilty of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group. Sentenced to two years in jail suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard that the four drivers made multiple trips and NCA investigators proved there link to Belabes from call and text records found on their mobile phones. Mourad Bouhlaghem was even captured on CCTV meeting Belabes in London and placing people in his car.
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Belabes used cab drivers because if stopped by police they would have a credible reason for having multiple people inside.
John Turner, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “We know that some gangs and drivers involved in smuggling migrants out of the UK are involved in smuggling into the UK too. Like Madjid Belabes, their only concern is making money. Belabes and these taxi drivers didn’t care about the potentially fatal dangers facing migrants hidden in lorry trailers.
“These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities. 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.”
Andrew Hudson, a specialist prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Smuggling people across borders in lorries is highly dangerous but thankfully in this case it was not fatal.
“These five men played their part in an organised crime ring out of pure greed and selfishness. Not only does people smuggling put lives at risk but it’s also an attack on UK border security. The CPS and our law enforcement partners will continue to build the strongest cases against suspects, whatever role they play.”
The CPS confirmed this week that the drivers were “licensed minicab drivers, not black cab drivers” after we asked for clarification. In press releases from both the CPS anbd NCA they were referred to as only taxi drivers, which most people use in reference to black taxi drivers.
