UK court hands down 25-year sentence to notorious people smuggler

A UK court on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, sentenced Ahmed Ebid, a 42-year-old UK-based notorious people smuggler, to 25 years in prison for his central role in a £12 million human trafficking operation.

In the operation, he reportedly exploited vulnerable asylum seekers attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Operating from his home in Isleworth, south-west London, 2,500 miles from the frontline of the operation, Ebid coordinated a sophisticated network that facilitated the illegal transport of nearly 3,800 people.

It included women and children, from North Africa to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023.

According to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Ebid directed at least seven fishing boat crossings from Libya to Italy, using dangerously overcrowded and poorly equipped vessels.

Some of those smuggled eventually reached the UK.

Prosecutors described him as holding a “significant managerial role within an organised crime group,” with a sole motivation of profiting from human misery.

At Southwark Crown Court, Ebid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

The presiding judge, Hiddleston, emphasized the severity of his actions.

He noted that the conspiracy generated millions from the “hard-earned savings of desperate individuals,” who were “ruthlessly and cynically exploited.”

The judge concluded that Ebid personally benefited significantly from the illegal scheme.

Ebid, an Egyptian national, had a criminal history in Europe prior to this case.

He entered the UK in October 2022 after crossing the English Channel by small boat.

This was despite having previously been convicted in Italy in 2017 for drug smuggling, for which he received a sentence of six years and two months.

According to media reports, Ebid resumed criminal activity shortly after arriving in the UK.

Working with established people-smuggling networks, he arranged for boats to carry hundreds of migrants at a time from Libya, advertising the journeys via Facebook.

He reportedly provided boats, sourced crew members and gave technical instructions during the crossings.

Ebid also helped with housing migrants, and handled necessary paperwork, prosecutors revealed.

Chillingly, Ebid gave orders to kill migrants found carrying mobile phones during the crossings, likely to avoid detection by authorities.

In a conversation recorded by a hidden device planted by NCA agents, he instructed an associate, “Tell them guys anyone caught with a phone will be killed, threw in the sea.”

The scale and danger of the operations were substantial.

On October 25, 2022, Italian authorities rescued more than 640 people from a wooden boat coordinated by Ebid; two bodies were found aboard.

In another case in December 2022, 265 migrants were saved from a 20-meter fishing boat found adrift after departing Benghazi.

In April 2023, two separate rescue missions recovered over 600 people each after distress signals were received from overloaded vessels.

Over the course of the seven known crossings orchestrated by Ebid, 3,781 individuals were smuggled into Italian waters.

The operation charged each migrant approximately £3,200, accumulating around £12.3 million in revenue.

Ebid was arrested in June 2023 in Isleworth.

This followed a collaborative investigation between the NCA and Italian authorities.

These included the Guardia di Finanza and coastguard.

During his arrest, law enforcement seized a phone containing crucial evidence that included photos of boats, and videos of migrants on their journey.

It also included messages discussing the purchase of vessels, and screenshots of financial transactions.

Tim Burton, a specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, stated that Ebid’s actions demonstrated a blatant disregard for human life, prioritizing financial gain over the safety of thousands.

“He played a leading role in a sophisticated operation that breached immigration laws and endangered lives,” Burton said.

NCA Deputy Director Jacque Beer echoed this assessment, describing Ebid as someone who preyed on the desperation of migrants.

“He saw them as nothing more than profit,” Beer said.

“His cruel attitude was clear in his willingness to throw people into the sea to enforce his rules.

While based in the UK, he was directing a criminal operation from North Africa that ultimately endangered lives across Europe, including the UK.”

Ebid’s conviction marks the first time someone in the UK has been held accountable for orchestrating Mediterranean boat crossings.

Authorities hope the sentence will serve as a warning to others involved in similar transnational human smuggling networks.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook