Posted on 07/02/2026 3:02:31 AM PDT by RandFan
A convicted people smuggler, once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, is living in Leicestershire and believed to be seeking asylum while working illegally, a BBC investigation can reveal.
Twana Jamal was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016, where authorities described him as one of the most successful people smugglers ever caught.
Prosecutors said the Iraqi Kurd, aged 36 at the time, had earned up to £100,000 a week for moving illegal immigrants across the Channel.
Following a tip-off this year, we traced Jamal to the village of Blaby and witnessed him working, driving a car without a licence and apparently using a false name.
Jamal's presence in the UK raises serious concerns about whether existing border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who have committed serious crimes overseas.
Immigration officers have told the BBC that since the UK left the European Union, it has become more difficult to check criminal records from some other countries.
We have found more than 20 active smugglers who have reached the UK - some with overseas convictions, and some claiming asylum using false names.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
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What a nice person... /s
Well done BBC for publishing this. It happens once every blue moon
Will he be deported or allowed to stay?
It looks like a money laundering op vis Mini Marts.⚠️
Clever.
Pull those accounts and I suspect those “businesses” will have a high turnover, disproportionally.
They use these main street stores to launder the $$$
“No-one touches us here,” he said. “Even the police won’t stop you.”
From this information, we searched for companies in the Leicester area that might be linked to Jamal, and found two mini-marts in Blaby - a village of about 6,000 people on the outskirts of the city.
The mini-marts, both named Candy Corner, are metres away from each other on opposite sides of the high street (by chance, one of them also stands next door to the constituency office of the local Conservative MP).
Over several days last month, we watched comings and goings at the brightly coloured stores, which sell vapes and sweets (candy) until late in the evening.
Call 007 for a double tap.
Why are they going after Leicestershire man? /s
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