An individual described as a leader in international human trafficking has been sentenced to prison for distributing inflatable boats to migrant groups. Adem Savas, aged 45, was given an 11-year jail term in Belgium after being found guilty of aiding in people smuggling and participating in an organized criminal network. He was apprehended in Amsterdam en route to a marine trade show following a prolonged investigation involving law enforcement agencies from the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Savas is estimated to have earned substantial profits by providing equipment used in nearly half of the Channel crossings in 2023, some of which resulted in tragic outcomes. Due to his involvement in thousands of such crossings, he was identified as a prominent figure in the hierarchy of European human smuggling and was listed as the top target on the National Crime Agency’s wanted list.
The NCA’s Director General of Operations, Rob Jones, emphasized Savas’s pivotal role in supplying boats and engines to criminal networks orchestrating perilous Channel crossings. Despite posing as a legitimate maritime supplier, Savas was well aware of how the equipment he supplied would be misused, resulting in numerous fatal incidents.
Following a court hearing in Bruges, Savas confessed to his involvement in people smuggling and criminal group activities, leading to his sentencing and a substantial fine. His arrest was a direct result of an inquiry into the activities of Kurdish crime boss Hewa Rahimpur, who was linked to a significant smuggling network responsible for transporting over 10,000 migrants in small boat journeys to the UK.
Investigations revealed that Savas was the primary provider of boats and engines to Rahimpur, moving the equipment from Turkey through Europe for eventual use in the Channel. Working in collaboration with smuggling networks in Belgium and France, Savas is believed to have facilitated thousands of illegal crossings to the UK, earning substantial profits in the process.
Communications between Savas and Rahimpur further exposed their involvement in the tragic deaths of migrants, with evidence of their coordination in supplying equipment for smuggling operations. Authorities successfully apprehended Savas as he arrived in Schipol, Netherlands, with the operation being coordinated through a joint effort involving Europol and Eurojust.
The crackdown on individuals profiting from human trafficking was lauded by Minister for Border Security and Asylum Alex Norris, highlighting the collaborative efforts of the National Crime Agency and international partners in dismantling such criminal networks and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
