Marinel Danut Palage carried refugees from France to Portsmouth before transporting them to Runcton, West Sussex, near Chichester.
According to Bournemouth Crown Court, the operation was carried out at least three times, bringing roughly 10 to 12 foreigners illegally into the UK.
The 31-year-old man received a nine-year prison sentence.
Marinel Danut Palage took migrants from France to Portsmouth on a boat before taking them to West Sussex.
Palage, a Romanian national who lived in Spain, was a significant member of a criminal organisation, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Following a four-year investigation, he and four others were arrested in March 2019.
During a search of his cab, police uncovered plastic bags holding £34,500 in cash, as well as further bundles of euros and sterling worth around £7,000, hidden behind a tachograph panel.
Judge William Mousley KC sentenced Palage, saying, “You expected, and received, large sums of money for your involvement.
The court went on to say that Palage had exhibited no remorse because he had committed similar crimes in Germany and had to be extradited to stand prosecution in the UK.
He ordered the seizure of Palage’s vehicle and the money discovered.
Officers recovered cash secreted in the lorry. Pshtewan Ghafour, 37, of Middlesbrough, was also sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the operation.
The NCA is still looking for the group’s ringleader, Goran Jalal, 37, of Bradford, who fled after being arrested.
Kamaran Kader, 44, of Bradford; Mariwan Mustafa, 33, of Halifax; and Jamal Saied, 38, of Manchester, and Hemin Salih, 37, of Manchester, who has also absconded, will be sentenced separately for their roles in the network.
This people smuggling group was content to put vulnerable migrants, including children, in the back of refrigerated lorries for hours on end during dangerous Channel crossings,” said NCA branch commander Richard Harrison.
“It is clear from the evidence we discovered that their sole motivation was profit, with no regard for the migrants’ safety.”
