Man who helped smuggle more than 3,000 people into Europe jailed

A UK-based people smuggler who helped organise the movement of more than 3,000 migrants as part of a £12 million illegal boat crossing operation has been jailed for 25 years.

Egyptian-born Ahmed Ebid, 42, of south west London, was involved in smuggling nearly 3,800 people on fishing boat crossings from North Africa to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023 and some of them made their way to Britain, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

It is believed Ebid is the first person convicted of organising boat crossings across the Mediterranean from the UK.

Ebid arrived in the UK on a small boat in 2022 after spending five years in jail in Italy for attempted drug smuggling. He applied for asylum in the UK, though he never received a decision by the British government about his claim.