An NCA investigation discovered that Gul Wali Jabarkhel, 33, of Cricklewood, used his barbershop in neighbouring Colindale as a front for organised immigration crime, attempting to recruit lorry drivers to transport migrants to the UK.
Jabarkhel, who claimed to have connections with Albanian criminals abroad, offered a driver £2,500 for each person brought in from France or Belgium in September 2020, with payment due upon completion.
He was hesitant to smuggle more than five migrants at a time due to the risk of detection, but he wanted to establish a long-term relationship with the driver, who would conduct smuggling runs up to three times a month.
The first mission, set for November 9, 2020, involves smuggling refugees from Belgium, but Jabarkhel called it off.
Instead, he and a future co-conspirator, Baz Mohammed Jabarkhil, 47, of Mill Hill, also in north west London, travelled to Kabul, Afghanistan. While they were away, the NCA tried to prevent them from returning in order to destroy their illegal activity.
However, the couple attempted to re-enter the UK illegally several times using the lorry drivers they had attempted to recruit. A proposal was devised for this in April 2021, for which they would pay £7,500 apiece.
With them out of the country, they asked Rehan Murudkar, 19, of Edgware, and Mohammad Rafique, 28, of Dollis Hill to organise a cash handover at the M1 London Gateway Services for their convenience.
However, the couple were unaware that they were being observed by the NCA, and Murudkar and Rafique were detained shortly after the cash was given to the lorry driver on suspicion of money laundering.
When questioned, both men agreed to taking the money from the hair shop to the service station but denied any role in the people smuggling scheme. They stated they had no idea what they were buying and had assumed they were paying for untaxed items such as barbering equipment.
However, evidence discovered on their phones showed repeated phone calls, audio and text message exchanges with Jabarkhel and Jabarkhil.
This contained a Google Maps link for the service station supplied by Jabarkhil to Murudkar and Rafique, as well as communications from Murudkar to his partner stating that he was dropping off £10,000 for Jabarkhel.
Shortly after, Jabarkhel believed he had successfully smuggled himself back into the UK, however NCA officers apprehended him at a barber shop on July 8, 2021.
Jabarkhil reached the UK illegally two months later on a small boat. Border Force detained him in Dover and the NCA arrested him for people smuggling.
Following a six-week trial, all four men were convicted at Kingston Crown Court on April 25 and sentenced at the same court yesterday (1 June).
Jabarkhel was sentenced to ten years in prison, Jabarkhil to five years, Murudkar to two years and three months, and Rafique to three and a half years.
Jabarkhil admitted to illegally entering the United Kingdom in September 2021.
In an earlier hearing, Jabarkhel pled guilty to his role in the plot to bring Jabarkhil into the UK.
This organisation was aiming to profit from the clandestine movement of vulnerable migrants, driven by money and more worried with discovery at the borders than the hazards to human life,” said NCA Senior Investigating Officer Chris Hill.
Jabarkhel and his friends are now facing prison time.” These sentences serve as a clear reminder to everyone participating in organised immigration criminality that they will be extensively investigated by the NCA and prosecuted.
Thanks to the diligent work of the NCA on this case, these nasty people traffickers are behind bars and will not be able to profit any longer from putting people’s lives at danger,” said Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP.
