A people smuggler who referred to migrants as "chickens" has been jailed for just over 10 years for his role in arranging illegal crossings to the UK.
Ramal Briem worked with other gang members to transport people, including six who were brought to Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire in the back of a lorry in March 2024.
The 33-year-old Iraqi national came to the UK illegally by small boat in 2020, after which he claimed asylum. He got involved in the people smuggling network following financial struggles, the National Crime Agency said.
Briem pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration at Wolverhampton Crown Court in October 2024.
Sentencing him earlier at Worcester Crown Court, Judge Andrew Lockhart KC suggested that Briem, who had been living in Wolverhampton, was also deported after his sentencing was complete.
The judge said it was hard to imagine "a more serious example of a people trafficker".
"You were part of an organised crime group (OCG) bringing significant numbers of immigrants from across the globe," he said.
"Victims found themselves threatened, abused and placed at huge risk…you and the people you work with would prey on them."
The main evidence for the case came from seized mobile phones, with messages between Briem and another gang member known as "Kevin".
They discussed the movement of people they referred to as "chickens" waiting for illegal crossings in northern France.
Briem said in one exchange that if he received "20 chickens, two of them were free".
Prosecutor Cathlyn Orchard told the court that Briem also used a boat emoji in the messages.
This breaking news story is being updated.
Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Related internet links
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Turkey’s intel chief lays out country’s vision for Middle East, world - 2Step by step instructions to Explore Assessment Ramifications of Disc Rates
- 3This Week In Space podcast: Episode 203 — China Rising
- 4Tehran defends ship seizure as a legal action, but tensions continue in the Gulf
- 5Global measles cases drop 71% in 24 years as vaccination coverage improves, WHO says
- The German series proving subtitles can be sexy — and wildly addictive
- The Excursion to Monetary Proficiency: Individual budget Triumphs
- A definitive Frozen yogurt Standoff: Which Flavor Rules?
- No red, no long shorts: The fashion rules Joe Burrows lives by
- 21 Things You Ought to Never Tell Your Childless Companion
- First Greenland, now Iceland? Annexation joke by Trump ally gets frosty response in the Arctic nation.
- Europe pledges over €15bn for clean energy for Africa
- Figure out How to Utilize Your Web based Advertising Degree to Break into the Tech Business
- UNICEF: More than 100 children killed in Gaza since ceasefire
