Ramal Briem, a 33-year-old Iraqi national from Wolverhampton, has been charged with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration as part of a dangerous people-smuggling network facilitating illegal entry into the UK. The ring targeted predominantly Vietnamese migrants, charging £1,500 per person for passage across Europe and then across the English Channel on small boats.
Court documents reveal that Briem communicated with an accomplice known as ‘Kevin’, using coded language to describe migrants as “chickens.” Messages discussed coordinating pickups from countries such as Romania and Hungary, with migrants initially traveling on work visas through Eastern Europe before gathering in the “jungles” near Dunkirk and Calais in France. From there, migrants crossed the Channel and were placed in government-run hotels before disappearing into the Vietnamese community in the UK.
The operation was described by prosecutors as a “very substantial commercial enterprise,” with evidence showing over 1,000 migrant names in ledgers seized by authorities. French police, cooperating with UK law enforcement agencies, arrested the head of the wider criminal network in April 2024, which led to Briem’s identification and subsequent arrest by the National Crime Agency.
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Briem admitted involvement but claimed he believed the dealings involved cigarette sales rather than human trafficking. The Crown Prosecutor rejected this defense, and during a court hearing, Judge Andrew Lockhart KC characterized Briem as a “serious organised criminal” central to the network, employing others and generating significant financial gain from endangered migrants’ journeys.
In one chilling message exchange, Briem agreed to pick up migrants from Romania, promising to “help” and quoting fees of £1,500 per migrant. He even negotiated giving “two free” migrants for every twenty successfully transported, highlighting the transactional nature of the illicit operation.
The court heard how Briem maintained contact with French numbers and coordinated migrant movements across national borders, including a notable incident where migrants attempted to flee from a lorry in Staffordshire.
With no prior convictions, Briem now faces a lengthy prison sentence and likely deportation once sentenced on March 26. Judge Lockhart condemned the smuggling network’s dangers, emphasizing the risk to migrants’ lives in this illicit trade and underscoring the severe consequences of Briem’s actions.