unmasks key people smuggler in network behind most small boat crossings

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. unmasks key people smuggler in network behind most small boat crossings7 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSue MitchellBBC News Watch: How the tracked down identity of people smugglerA leading people-smuggler, whose network is believed to be responsible for the majority of illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years, has been unmasked by a investigation. The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd has evaded arrest for several years by operating under the alias "Kardo Ranya". He has kept his real name a closely guarded secret, which has frustrated law enforcement agencies in their efforts to issue an international warrant for his arrest.

The lack of information about Kardo Ranya's real name has also made it harder for individual police forces in Europe to track his whereabouts or follow leads beyond their own borders. However, using contacts in the smuggling world, my colleague Rob Lawrie and I were able to follow a trail from migrant camps on the northern French coast, all the way to Iraqi Kurdistan, obtaining Kardo Ranya's real identity and details, and ultimately confronting him. The story of this search is told in a new Radio 4 podcast, Intrigue: To Catch A King.

The Details

Kardo Ranya is believed to operate a smuggling operation with routes stretching from Afghanistan to the UK. He took his pseudonym from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he is believed to be from. This is an autonomously governed region "riddled with active smuggling networks", according to a 2024 report by the international affairs think tank, Chatham House.

"We'd say the majority of the small-boat criminal business model is controlled by Kurds," said Dan Cannatella-Bancroft, acting deputy director of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA). A number of smugglers who have either come from Ranya, or operated there, have recently been targeted by the NCA, he added. This echoed what we heard from a smuggler in a French migrant camp, who said the network that controlled the cross-Channel trade was often referred to as the Ranya Boys.

Kardo Ranya's real name may have been a secret, but he has not been reluctant to show his face when advertising his services as a smuggler on social media platforms. He has also posted videos tempting customers with images of luxury in London, and testimonies from apparently satisfied customers who have already made the journey to the UK. A former smuggler told us that Kardo Ranya's network charges about €17,000 (£15,000) to transport a migrant all the way from Iraq to the UK.

What Experts Say

Although this price is often higher than that of his rivals, the network claims to offer a safer journey (and a VIP service for those who can pay). " charges more," the former smuggler said, "but still the migrant goes to him. "However, the long journey across the Middle East and Europe is both illegal and unsafe at almost every step of the way.

It has proved fatal for many migrants.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.