Ujeza Kurmekaj, a 32-year-old Albanian woman, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed her involvement as a fixer for people smugglers. Kurmekaj was arrested at her residence in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in October 2022.
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During the investigation, NCA officers discovered numerous incriminating messages on Kurmekaj’s phone, highlighting her pivotal role in connecting people smugglers with passengers. These messages included specific instructions on who to pick up, such as “family one: 3 women, children 14, 17, 12 years old,” and “we have here one family, man, wife, one child.” Additionally, messages indicated the challenging conditions, such as “very bad sea,” and even provided map locations for pick-up and boat positioning in the English Channel.
