People smuggler exposed by BBC investigation arrested and charged
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People smuggler exposed by BBC investigation arrested and charged
Image source:
PA Media
Image caption:
Twana Jamal Khdir appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday afternoon
By Iain Watson, Political correspondent
and
Jennifer McKiernan, Political reporter
Published 12 minutes ago
A convicted people smuggler who was found by the BBC to be living in Leicestershire has been arrested and charged with immigration offences.
Twana Jamal Khdir, an Iraqi national who was once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, previously served a sentence for people smuggling in France. Last month, the BBC revealed he was now living in the UK.
The BBC has been told he was arrested on Tuesday near Uppingham in Leicestershire in a joint operation led by the Midlands Criminal Financial Investigations team, with the support of Leicestershire Police. He was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service and appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty to entering the UK without valid entry clearance, but not guilty to seeking to obtain leave to enter or remain by deceptive means. He has been remanded in custody and will next appear at Leicester Crown Court on 5 October.
Khdir was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016, where authorities described him as one of the most successful people smugglers ever caught. Prosecutors said the Iraqi Kurd, aged 36 at the time, had earned up to £100,000 a week for moving illegal immigrants across the Channel.
