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
Israel Police decry online defamation campaign against female officer in Jerusalem - 2Robert Irwin on winning 'Dancing With the Stars' 10 years after sister Bindi: 'This was everything I dreamed it would be and so much more'
- 3Quantum Computing’s Next Major Breakthroughs Could Come From Australia
- 4Pulsars to the extreme: Spinning dead stars found blasting radio signals from the 'edge of their magnetic reach'
- 5The powerful new Rubin Observatory just found 11,000 new asteroids and measured 'tens of thousands more'
- Farmers worry about rising cost of fertiliser
- Dark matter may be made of pieces of giant, exotic objects — and astronomers think they know how to look for them
- An Extended time of Careful Nurturing: Individual Bits of knowledge on Bringing up Youngsters
- Vote In favor of Your Favored Menial helper Administration
- Vote in favor of your Favored Travel Movement
- What is the Significant Tech Expertise to Master Today?
- They died 'doing what they loved': The stories of workers in their 80s who died on the job
- The most effective method to Execute a Lung-Solid Eating routine After a Cellular breakdown in the lungs Finding
- Material of Innovativeness: A Survey of \Releasing Your Imaginative Potential\ Online Workmanship Course
