Watch: NCA surveillance officers film West Midlands people smuggler Pistiwan Jameel with an Albanian client in Perry Barr in Birmingham

Three men have been jailed for people smuggling offences following a National Crime Agency investigation into a group organising small boat crossings from France to the UK.

Among the trio was Birmingham-based Pistiwan Jameel, aged 55, who came to the UK from Iraq in 2002.

Jameel acted as a ‘fixer’ for his clients, brokering spaces on boats with gangs operating in northern France, and collecting payments afterwards. NCA investigators believe he was likely behind dozens of cross-Channel journeys.

NCA surveillance officers watched Jameel meet one such client, Albanian national Artan Halilaj, 39, in Perry Barr, Birmingham on 1 September 2023.

Cash handover

A handover of cash took place, and shortly afterwards Jameel made a phone call in which he was heard to say that he had “my three passengers, all good to go, all okay”.

Artan Halilaj, who was at the time living in Southall, had himself arrived on a small boat from Belgium earlier that year. He claimed asylum, but disappeared from the hotel where he was supposed to be staying as his claim was processed by the Home Office.

Artan was organising passage for his relative Fiorentino Halilaj, 25, who crossed the Channel in a small boat the next day on 2 September. His phone was taken into the possession of the immigration authorities, but it was later handed to the NCA. It was found to contain a contact for Jameel.

He referred to migrants as ‘pigeons’ or ‘sticks’

Over the following days NCA officers were able to record his side of a number of conversations Jameel had with criminal associates, in which he arranged crossings for his customers, often referring to migrants as ‘pigeons’ or ‘sticks’. On one occasion he complained that competition in the people smuggling market was driving prices down, while bragging that he had made at least two million US dollars for his criminal networks through his contacts.

Another conversation suggested that he was involved in moving a migrant to Turkey from the Middle East, and expected to earn around ten thousand US dollars from the enterprise.

Artan and Jameel were arrested by NCA officers on 23 October 2023, while Fiorentino was arrested the following day at the immigration detention centre where he was being held.

Jameel’s phone was found to contain information and messages relating to up to 50 people who had entered the UK illegally on small boats during 2022 and 2023, including images taken on boats in the Channel.

Artan and Fiorentino Halilaj were both charged with one count of facilitating illegal immigration, while Jameel was charged with two counts.

Jameel and Fiorentino both pleaded guilty, while Artan was convicted on 12 November 2024 following a week-long trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Pistiwan Jameel is jailed

Today (Monday 24 February) at the same court Jameel was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison, Artan Halilaj was jailed for three-and-a-half years, while Fiorentino Halilaj got two-and-a-half years.

The NCA’s investigation was supported by Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations and Border Force.

‘Offending was far wider than just the crossings’

NCA Branch Commander Kevin Broadhead said: “The scale of Pistiwan Jameel’s offending was likely far wider than just the crossings he was charged over. The information we uncovered during our investigation suggests he was prolific, and was operating over a considerable amount of time.

 “The way in which he talked about the people he was smuggling and the profits he was making demonstrated he was only in it for the money. He was quite happy to risk other people’s lives in flimsy boats at sea as long as he got paid.

 “Targeting smugglers like him is a priority for the NCA, and we will do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the organised criminal networks involved.”

 The NCA is currently leading around 70 investigations into individuals or networks involved in the top tier of organised immigration crime or human trafficking, using a full range of tactics to target them.