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
Human evolution’s biggest mystery has started to unravel. How 2025 tipped the scales - 2Ukraine demands army of 800,000 under peace plan
- 3An Investigate of 6 Creative Specialty Mixed drinks
- 4Images of Bangladeshi motorcyclists sleeping at petrol pumps are AI-generated
- 5PFAS in pregnant women’s drinking water puts their babies at higher risk, study finds
- One ant for $220: the new frontier of wildlife trafficking
- Explainer-What has happened to the damaged spacecraft at China's space station?
- Hezbollah rockets hit 165 UNIFIL positions in Lebanon while targeting Israel, IDF reveals
- Arctic sea ice just dropped to an alarming new low
- Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves
- Knesset sets special panel to fast-track Karhi’s communications reform
- This professional Santa's dream of spreading holiday cheer fuels stroke recovery
- Dark matter may be made of pieces of giant, exotic objects — and astronomers think they know how to look for them
- This Huge Ocean Beast Shifts Sharks’ Evolutionary Timeline
