Hewa Rahimpur has been jailed for 11 years for leading one of the biggest criminal groups involved in small boat crossings to the UK.
He's a man who exploited the hope of people fleeing persecution - trying to make a better life - and created a business from their desperation.
After a British led investigation across Europe, Belgian police found a number of small boats and outboard motors in the back of two cars, near the Belgium-France border, in October 2021. The 30-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker directed the operation from his home in East London, where he moved to in 2016 and was given leave to remain in 2020.
But what is so significant about this trial was that Rahimpur was convicted alongside 19 other people, who were all part of his Europe-wide gang.
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