The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on 25 targets involved in alleged people smuggling, marking a significant move in its efforts to tackle organized immigration crime and reduce irregular migration to the UK. The sanctions, introduced under a new financial sanctions regime, target individuals and entities facilitating the travel of refugees and migrants across the English Channel via small boats.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasized the government’s commitment to addressing this issue, stating, “This is a landmark moment in the government’s work to tackle organised immigration crime [and] reduce irregular migration to the UK.” He added, “From Europe to Asia, we are taking the fight to the people smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions.”
The sanctioned targets include a small boat supplier in Asia, gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa, and “middlemen” involved in hawala money transfer systems in the Middle East. These individuals and entities have been accused of facilitating people smuggling and driving irregular migration to the UK.
Sanctioned Targets:
- Individuals:
- Bledar Lala, leader of the Belgian operations of an organised smuggling group
- Alen Basil, a former police translator who became the boss of a large people-smuggling network
- Mohammed Tetwani, head of the ‘Tetwani’ gang and self-styled “King” of Horgos in Serbia
- Muhammed Khadir Pirot, a hawala banker involved in informal money transfer networks
- Entities:
- Weihai Yamar Outdoors Product Co, a company in China that advertised small boats for people smuggling on an online marketplace
- Kazawi Gang, a people-smuggling network controlling routes from North Africa into the EU
- Kavač Gang and Škaljari Gang, Balkan organised crime organisations involved in supplying fake passports for smuggling gang members across borders
The new sanctions regime allows the government to freeze assets, impose travel bans, and block access to the country’s financial system for individuals and entities involved in enabling irregular migration. This move is part of the UK’s efforts to disrupt and deter people smuggling networks, and comes amid growing concerns about the number of refugees and migrants arriving in the UK via small boats.
In recent months, the UK has strengthened its partnerships with European countries to address the issue of irregular migration. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently agreed to a “one in, one out” deal with French President Emmanuel Macron, aimed at reducing the number of small boat arrivals in the UK. The UK has also signed a historic defence treaty with Germany, which includes a commitment to making facilitating the smuggling of refugees and migrants to the UK a criminal offence.