A man suspected of heading a multimillion-pound operation that smuggled thousands of people into western Europe is facing extradition after being arrested at an asylum shelter in Liverpool.
Jamal Owda, 26, a Palestinian national, was apprehended on a European arrest warrant after moving from country to country. The National Crime Agency (NCA) believes he is the ringleader of a group responsible for more than 100 migrants a day – most of them Syrians – entering western Europe over the last 16 months, at a charge of about £1,000 per person.
The gang would smuggle people through Greece into Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, before helping them travel to other EU states, including Britain, France and Germany. Europol, which helped co-ordinate the raids, said the gang was believed to have made nearly £7m in profits.
NCA officers tracked Owda down to an asylum shelter near Sefton Park in Liverpool. He is believed to have been living in the hostel for several months after entering the UK in the back of a lorry in May 2014.
On Thursday Owda appeared at Westminster magistrates court in London. Greek authorities are seeking his extradition, and if he is sent there and convicted he could face up to 20 years in prison.
At the time of Owda’s arrest, another 22 suspects were detained in simultaneous police operations in Greece, Austria and Sweden. According to the Daily Mail, the majority of the network’s members are Greek nationals whose work was co-ordinated by an Albanian, allegedly working closely with Owda. The gang, which used social media and online forums to run its operation, supplied housing and forged travel documents.
Marinder Dhillon, prosecuting, told the court on Thursday that Owda was accused of “managing a criminal organisation” between July 2014 and November 2015. Dhillon said: “He facilitated the exit of at least 95 people from Greece as well as facilitating five other groups of people of unknown number.
“He also facilitated the exit, or attempted exit, of another 15 but this failed due to increased police presence. It is said he was paid at least €1,500 per trafficking, potentially illegally making him hundreds of thousands of euros.
“Due to his recent offending in the last month we say there are fears he will fail to surrender. He was arrested at an immigration hostel housing people in the process of going through asylum in the UK. There is no longer a place available for him at the hostel and they do not want him back.”
Owda’s lawyer Lewis Green said he would oppose his extradition on human rights grounds because of the poor state of Greek prisons. “In Greece there has been and continue to be difficulties in Greek prison conditions, in part reflecting the economic situation,” he said, adding that Owda was not working, was not allowed to work and there were issues in relation to his mental health.
The district judge Elizabeth Roscoe remanded Owda in custody due to a fear that he could try to flee. There will be a bail application at the same court on 11 December, a case management hearing on 17 March and a full hearing on 14 April.
This year David Cameron asked the NCA to lead a UK law enforcement organised immigration crime taskforce. Graham Roberts, the agency’s operations manager, said: “As a result of joint working with the Greek authorities we have located and arrested a Palestinian man believed to be the head of a crime group responsible for smuggling around 100 Syrian migrants a day from Greece into western Europe.
“The NCA-led UK taskforce targeting people-smuggling networks was involved in this operation and will continue to work with agencies in the UK and overseas to pursue, disrupt and prosecute anyone that preys on vulnerable people in order to line their own pockets.”
