Overview

• Ahmed Ebid, 42, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for his role in coordinating seven dangerous boat crossings from Libya to Italy between 2022 and 2023.
• This marks the UK's first conviction for organising Mediterranean migrant crossings, setting a legal precedent in immigration law.
• The smuggling operation exploited vulnerable individuals, charging an average of £3,200 per person and generating over £12 million in profits.
• Ebid instructed associates to threaten migrants with death if they carried phones, aiming to evade law enforcement during the crossings.
• The National Crime Agency worked with Italian authorities to dismantle Ebid's transnational smuggling network, which endangered thousands of lives.