Eight Smuggling Gang Members Await Sentencing

Eight members of a UK-based people smuggling gang are facing jail after a Vietnamese woman was found crammed inside the glove box of a car that crossed the Channel from France in June 2022. The discovery led to an investigation that uncovered an international people smuggling network, resulting in the seizure of counterfeit documents, 20,000 illicit cigarettes, and £6,000 in cash. Three gang members were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, with five others pleading guilty or awaiting sentencing. The gang facilitated illegal immigration to the UK from 2022 to 2024 via land and air using counterfeit identity documents reportedly made in a Greek forgery factory. Key members include Redar Curtis, Jozef Kadet, and Khales Akram Jabar, with others such as the Hamadamin brothers and Curtis's wife, Emily Etherington, also involved. Sentencing for the convicted individuals is yet to be set.