Two UK residents have been sent to prison for their part in a people smuggling ring that charged £10,000 per person to cross to Britain.
The duo, both Iranian nationals, were among 21 people sentenced in France as part of an organised crime network engaged in smuggling people across the Channel, mostly in the backs of lorries.
Hojjat Nickhoo, 38, and Ayoob Khaleghi, 33, were arrested in the UK and extradited to France for trial, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Investigators believe the group made more than £4 million in less than a year and smuggled at least 250 people into the UK, charging £10,000 for an adult, and £9,000 for a child.
Nickhoo, one of the ringleader, received a seven-year sentence, while Khaleghi was jailed for two and a half years. Collectively, all of the defendants in court were sentenced to a total of 81 and a half years in prison.
NCA deputy director Andrea Wilson said: “The NCA worked closely with French authorities to track these men down and ensure they went before the court in France. Tragically, we have seen that smuggling people in the back of vehicles and other methods can have lethal consequences.
“We continue our work to tackle the people smugglers who seek to exploit UK borders and treat migrants as a commodity to be profited from, with no regard for their safety.”
Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor and head of the CPS international justice and organised crime division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with the NCA to support this effective prosecution in France, by securing the extradition of the two UK-based defendants and the transfer of evidence to France.”
The NCA currently has around 50 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals linked to organised immigration crime or human trafficking.
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