Convicted people smuggler Twana Jamal, once described as “the godfather” of the French migrant camps, is living and working in Leicestershire, and believed to be seeking asylum, a BBC investigation can reveal.
Jamal was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016. Following a tip-off this year, the BBC traced Jamal to Blaby in Leicestershire, where we witnessed him working illegally, driving a car without a licence and apparently using a false name.
We have also been told by law enforcement officials in mainland Europe that 15 other convicted people smugglers are now living in the UK under false names, raising serious concerns about whether existing border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who have committed serious crimes overseas.
The Home Office told the BBC: “All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks”, and that the UK has “a number of agreements with countries which enable the sharing of criminal record information”, adding that immigration enforcement action is currently at its highest level in history.
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