Iraqi-born people smuggler who boasted of making $2m planning small boat crossings jailed

Pistiwan Jameel, a fixer for trafficking gangs based in France, described as ‘prolific’ by investigators

Pictures of migrants at sea were found on Pistiwan Jameel's phone. Photo: National Crime Agency

An Iraqi-born people smuggler who boasted of making $2 million arranging for migrants to cross the English Channel illegally in small boats has been sentenced to nearly five years in jail.

Pistiwan Jameel, 55, who came to the UK from Iraq in 2002, had contacts with people-smuggling gangs in France and would broker spaces for his clients while also collecting payments in the UK.

Investigators from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) believe Jameel, who lived in the city of Birmingham, was behind dozens of cross-Channel journeys. The Iraqi-Kurd pleaded guilty to two charges of organising illegal immigration.

He was quite happy to risk other people’s lives in flimsy boats at sea, as long as he got paid

Kevin Broadhead,
National Crime Agency commander

But NCA branch commander Kevin Broadhead revealed: "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."

Conversations between Pistiwan Jameel, 55, and criminal gangs were recorded, leading to his arrest and conviction. Photo: National Crime Agency

The NCA began tracking him after the phone of Albanian associate Fiorentino Halilaj, 25, who had himself crossed the Channel, was seized by the immigration authorities and handed to its investigators. Jameel's number was found on his phone.

Investigators were then able to record conversations Jameel had with criminal associates, in which he arranged crossings for his customers, often referring to migrants as “pigeons" or “sticks”.

In one conversation, Jameel claimed to have made at least $2 million for his criminal networks through his contacts, though in another he complained that competition in the people-smuggling market was driving prices down, the NCA said.

“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," Mr Broadhead said. "He was quite happy to risk other people’s lives in flimsy boats at sea, as long as he got paid."

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.

Officers also heard him suggest he was involved in moving a migrant to Turkey from the Middle East and expected to earn about $10,000 from the enterprise alone.

NCA surveillance officers watched as Jameel met one client, Albanian citizen Artan Halilaj, 39, in Birmingham on September 1, 2023. A handover of cash took place and shortly afterwards Jameel made a phone call in which he was heard to say he had “my three passengers, all good to go, all OK”.

Artan Halilaj was organising passage for his relative Fiorentino Halilaj, who crossed the Channel in a small boat the following day.

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

An NCA surveillance team saw Jameel meeting Artan Halilaj, who has also been jailed. Photo: NCA

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

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

Jameel and Fiorentino Halilaj pleaded guilty, while Artan Halilaj denied involvement but was found guilty after a week-long trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

At the same court on Monday, Jameel was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison, Artan Halilaj was sentenced to three and a half years, and Fiorentino Halilaj to two and a half years.

The NCA says it is currently leading about 70 investigations into people or networks involved in the top tier of organised immigration crime or human trafficking, using a range of tactics.

The sentencing of the Iraqi-Kurd comes as NCA officers took part in an operation to arrest three suspected people smugglers in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, an area which in recent years has become a centre for the people-smuggling business.

The arrests follow a deal struck between the UK and Iraq at the end of last year to allow British law enforcement officers to work in the region.