Jamal’s case is not isolated. The investigation identified more than 20 additional smugglers based in the UK. Law enforcement officials in Europe have identified 15 of these cases, including some who were convicted in courts in France, Germany and Belgium.
We learned about a man who was convicted in France. He now lives in Manchester, selling used cars, and is believed to still be involved in smuggling.
Another man, also convicted in France, lives in Blackpool. He applied for asylum under an assumed name and boasted on social media that he had been granted permission to remain.
After Brexit, Britain no longer has data-sharing agreements with many countries in the EU, making it more difficult to check the criminal and immigration records of asylum seekers, according to Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union.
“If we could share our database with our closest neighbors – Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France – we would know that they have been convicted of smuggling,” she said.
Asylum seekers are fingerprinted on arrival in the UK and checked against UK police databases, but this does not necessarily show they have been convicted in another country.
“All asylum seekers must undergo mandatory security checks to verify their identity for immigration, security and criminal investigations,” the Home Office said.
This point was also made in November last year., external Border Security Minister Alex Norris added that details of the tests were “not publicly disclosed” to protect the integrity of the screening process.
The Home Office said the UK had “a number of agreements with countries enabling the sharing of criminal records information” and that immigration enforcement actions were now at their highest level in history, with 83% of arrests made on suspicion of illegal work.
