‘LOOKALIKE’ PASSPORTS USED TO SMUGGLE MIGRANTS – Two gang members found guilty of trafficking six people into the UK

People-smugglers used “lookalike” passports to sneak migrants into Britain on pre-booked flights where they claimed asylum on arrival.

Bassam Al Anzi, a 36-year-old Kuwaiti national, and Abdulaziz Al Ali, a 28-year-old Turkish national, managed to get six migrants onto pre-booked flights from France to the UK on five separate occasions, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

There were also three unsuccessful attempts when inconsistencies were spotted as migrants tried to board flights to the UK. Once they had landed in Britain, the migrants presented themselves at passport control as undocumented migrants seeking asylum. Each migrant was charged around £8,000 for the “service”.

An investigation into the arrivals led Home Office Immigration Enforcement criminal and financial investigation (CFI) officers to the two men, who were arrested and later charged. They had reported the documents stolen after they had been used successfully to try to cover their tracks.

In court, Al Anzi was found guilty of facilitation and fraud offences. Al Ali was found guilty of facilitation. Mahmoud Al Koud, a 26-year-old Syrian national, also stood trial charged with the same offences, but the jury could not reach a verdict in his case.

Upon conviction, the men were remanded into custody to await sentence and can expect to receive jail time.