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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
A complex operation has been developed by the British authorities to crack down on immigrant trafficking gangs, where in this case they were Albanian citizens, who, unlike the classic forms of arrival in the United Kingdom by trucks or dinghies, arrived by private planes.
The British "The Sun" has published details of the operation, which after 8 years of investigations led Myrteza Hilaj and Kreshnik Kadena behind bars, as well as 4 forgers who produced thousands of identity documents for migrants, including certificates that allowed them to find work in construction site.
The pair were part of a European gang that transported mainly Albanian migrants, in exchange for payments of up to £10,000 to send them to the UK, on private jets.
The operation resulted in 20 convictions in Britain, Belgium and France and blocked 50 migrants from entering the UK - although it is not known how many had already arrived.
According to the police, Hilaj was a fixer for smuggling gangs using trucks, while Kadena was the point of contact for pilots transporting Albanians in the country.
"Hilaj was almost playing the role of a travel agent, placing the migrants in the right place and connecting them with the right people in France and Belgium to facilitate their journey to the UK," said senior investigating officer Saju Sasikumar. , of the National Crime Agency.
The NCA suspects Hilaj was also trying to recruit lorry drivers into the operation after leaving a random note on the windscreen of a vehicle on the Thurrock services on the M25.
Officer Sasikumar told The Sun: “He and an accomplice put a note on the windscreen of a truck saying 'call me'.
"Our assessment was that they were trying to recruit drivers willing to bring migrants to the UK."
Criminal network
Operation Micropus began when the NCA launched an investigation into Hilaj and discovered he was part of a major criminal ring that not only smuggled illegal immigrants but provided false documents for as little as £130.
When officers discovered that his associate Kadena helped arrange a flight in a Cessna for four illegals near Calais in July 2017, including a child under 10, they notified French authorities.
Britons David Green, 53, an architect and private pilot from Essex, and Edward Buckley, 45, a carpenter, were arrested and jailed for 30 months after a court case in Boulogne, France two weeks later.
The court heard how the two men had flown migrants from airfields near Calais and Le Touquet five times in the previous three months, paying each passenger £10,000.
When the plane failed to appear at Stapleford airfield near Romford, a panicked Kadena met Hilaj in a coffee bar near their home in Leyton, east London. They had no idea that their clandestine meeting was being recorded.
Nine days later the pair were arrested at their homes. They were convicted of facilitating illegal immigration at Southark Crown Court in March and will be sentenced next month.
Amazon style service
Cops also busted a series of scammers used by Hilaj, including one who ran an 'Amazon-style' service for at least seven years.
Master forger Sergiy Mykhaylov sold thousands of fake identity cards and work permits to foreign nationals seeking to gain a foothold in the UK.
Mykhaylov, now 43, who ran a printing business in Hackney, London, took orders by email and text message and paid just £130 for a fake driving licence.
When officers raided the Ukrainian's home in Stratford, North East London, they found more than 3,000 identity documents, 3,500 passport-style photos and 300 construction work certificates.
They also found £15,000 in cash and enough materials to create 40,000 fake ID cards.
Mark Mchormack, from the NCA, said the vast majority of customers were from Albania.
Mykhaylov was jailed for five-and-a-half years after admitting a string of fraud charges in 2018, while brokers Genadijs Kalinns, 43, of Loughton, Essex, and Dymtro Mykhailytskyi, 45, of Romford were jailed for six years and five years respectively.
Another Albanian, Arsen Baculi, 24, from East Ham, was given five years and eight months for supplying false documents and drug possession and was later deported back to Albania.
A fifth man involved in the factory, Oleksandr Sukhoviy, 45, was jailed for six years.
Whenever the cops busted one of the counterfeiting gangs Hilaj was using, he just moved on to another one.
When fixers Halaj and Kadena face justice next month, it will mark the end of an eight-year investigation into the smuggling ring.
But NCA officers admit they are playing a mole when it comes to organized crime gangs. / Adapted Pamphlet, taken from The Sun
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