People traffickers jailed

By TERRI JUDD

The mastermind behind one of the biggest human trafficking operations uncovered in Europe was jailed on Tuesday along with 23 of his gang.

Mhill Sokoli, 35, earned millions smuggling around 10,000 people - mostly Albanians - into Britain in a two year period.

Sentencing him to eight years yesterday, Judge Freddy Troch condemned the gang as "ruthless human traffickers" who actively recruited illegal immigrants by infiltrating refugee centres to drum up business.

"Their only goal was to make as much money as possible on the back of pour souls," he said. "The inhuman and beastly manner in which their clients were treated and hidden in trucks, was of no concern to them."

The judge also criticised Britain for "its poor (immigration) laws that attract illegal aliens and offer them no protection".

"It is surprising that (Britain) does not deal with the causes of the trade in human beings while immense efforts are made here to combat that smuggling," he added.

The death of 58 Chinese immigrants, found suffocated in the back of a truck at Dover in 2000, prompted many European Union members to try and clamp down on what is the third most lucrative trade after drugs and arms.

But without a consistent EU-wide approach, the fight against illegal immigration was "like mopping the floor while the tap is running," Judge Troch said yesterday.

The Belgian court heard that Sokoli and his gang operated a sliding scale of tariffs. While those who could afford (pounds sterling)2,150 were guaranteed successful passage with a bribed driver, asylum seekers who could only scrape together (pounds sterling)270 had to take their chance hiding in lorries found parked on motorway lay-bys near the port of Zeebrugge.

Operating from a small, unobtrusive flat in Brussels, Sokoli invested his gains - said to be (pounds sterling)6 million a year - in property and businesses back in his homeland of northern Albania.

As well as being jailed, he was fined (pounds sterling)88,000 yesterday. The court in Dendermonde also sentenced 23 others - including 19 Albanians, three Yugoslavs and one Turkish-born Belgian - to a variety of jail terms after finding them guilty of human trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation.

Three of Sokoli's partners received seven-year jail terms while gang members who recruited and transported immigrants were sentenced to six years and those who provided shelter got three years. One was acquitted through lack of evidence.

Yesterday the Leman Centre, a Brussels-based human rights organisation, explained that the court's decision to treat the matter as a trade in humans meant far stiffer penalties - of up to ten years - could be imposed. Smuggling people only carries a three-month sentence.

"In this case immense profits were made and the illegals were treated horrendously. The Brussels homes where they stayed were in an atrocious condition and several people were cheated by the gang," explained one of the Leman lawyers Paul Quirijnen.

The trial heard that the gang tried to smuggle at least 20 people a day across the Channel in 2001-2002.

Belgian police spent months following the gang's trail from Albanian to Italy.

From there immigrants were transported by lorry or train to Brussels where they were hidden in safe houses before the last leg of the journey.

Sokoli was arrested by armed police in February as he drove a vanload of ten illegal immigrants to a pickup point by a motorway.

"This is the biggest case of its kind so far. But we think there are other big fish still active." said prosecutor Anne-Marie D'Hondt.

Sokoli admitted smuggling people into Britain but denied trading in humans. His lawyer, Hein Diependaele, said he had 'assisted' migrants.

"Those people want to come here and as long as the life they leave behind is a lot worse, they will continue to come," he added outside court.

The British Government said last month it was considering expanding legal migration into Britain as a way of tackling skills shortages, boosting economic growth and stemming the flow of illegal immigrants.

Nervous about being seen as "soft" on the issue strict rules would be applied to prevent the scheme being abused. Tony Blair wants the issue to be addressed by the European Union and the wider international community.

- INDEPENDENT