Two men have pleaded guilty to running a people-smuggling ring from a car wash in Wales that moved migrants across Europe.
Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 42, operated what has been called a ‘TripAdvisor for migrants’ with various levels of service depending on how much refugees could pay.
The pair’s worldwide travel service was run secretly from their roadside car wash in an ordinary Welsh town where customers would get their motors cleaned.
But behind the scenes, the Shamo, originally from Iraq, and Khdir, who was born in Iran, were unlawfully arranging for people to travel from Iraq, Iran and Syria through Turkey, Belarus, Moldova and Bosnia.
They ended up in Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France.
Migrants were offered three tiers of services, with the simplest being on foot or by HGV or smaller vehicle, the next by cargo ship or yacht, and the top tier by plane.
Shamo and Khdir’s role was uncovered after undercover surveillance by investigators for the National Crime Agency (NCA), supported by Gwent Police.
They were charged in February with five counts of conspiring to breach migration laws in Italy, Romania, Croatia and Germany to bring people into EU countries between September 2022 and April 2023.
They went on trial at Cardiff Crown Court where they pleaded guilty to all charges against them on Friday after 10 days of prosecution evidence, the NCA said.
Derek Evans, NCA branch commander, said: ‘Ali Khdir and Dilshad Shamo were leading a double life – while on the surface they seemed to be operating a successful car wash, they were actually part of a prolific people-smuggling group moving migrants across Europe and taking thousands in payment.
‘Our evidence showed migrants moving under Khdir and Shamo made it to EU countries and we assess their journeys have and would have continued into the UK.
‘We worked painstakingly to piece together their movements to prove their important roles in a group, from advertising their services through videos to boasting of successful trips on messaging groups.
‘Tackling organised immigration crime is a top priority for the NCA and we will continue to do all we can to bring those involved in people-smuggling networks to justice.’
During the trial, prosecutor Sarah Gaunt told jurors there was evidence from WhatsApp, including voice messages between Shamo and Khdir and people based in Iraq, Turkey and Europe attempting to smuggle people across the EU.
The court heard most of the people trafficked came from Iraq, Iran and Syria, and were charged money equating to several thousands of pounds.
Much of the money was transferred using the ancient Hawala system of credit notes, with smaller amounts sent through Western Union.
Shamo and Khdir used messaging and social media to provide videos from people who had already taken the journey to advertise their routes.
In one video, a family travelling by plane details the route and say: ‘We are very happy… this is the visa, may god bless him, we are really happy.’
Another video shows a man travelling by HGV telling the camera: ‘Lorry route agreement, crossing agreement with the knowledge of driver. Here we have men, women and children. Thank god the route was easy and good.’
During the surveillance operation, police listening devices were placed in the defendants’ cars and the car wash.
Ms Gaunt said many of the conversations were in Kurdish.
She told jurors that the defendants could be seen organising and liaising with a number of people to facilitate or attempt to facilitate illegal immigration.
Shamo and Khdir were arrested in April 2023 and charged in February this year.
The NCA said that before being taken to custody, Khdir told Shamo: ‘Just tell them that we are buying and selling cars, just say we do transfer money from our home country.’
After the convictions, Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: ‘Criminals like Khdir and Shamo put countless lives at risk smuggling vulnerable people through Europe in a shameless attempt to make cash.
‘We are taking action against the people-smuggling gangs and will stop at nothing to dismantle their networks and bring justice to the system.’
She thanked the NCA for ‘dismantling’ Khdir and Shamo’s people-smuggling operation.
Detective Sergeant Simon Thomas, from Gwent Police, said: ‘During this investigation, we worked closely with the lead officer at the NCA to achieve a common goal – to safeguard those at risk and bring Khdir and Shamo to justice.
‘This case demonstrates clearly how agencies can work together successfully to support the victims and target the criminals behind the exploitation.’
The case will next be heard at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, ahead of sentencing.