Duc Quang Ta, 36, a Vietnamese national living in Reading, UK. Photos courtesy of the NCA

Paul Kennedy

BIRMINGHAM — A Vietnamese people smuggler who referred to police as ‘dogs’, vehicles as ‘horses’ and migrants as ‘chickens’ has been convicted after a trial in the United Kingdom.

Duc Quang Ta, 36, was found to be involved in the transport, or attempted transport, of migrants into the UK on 16 occasions between August 18 and September 6, 2020.

When Ta was arrested in Surrey on September 3, 2020, police found VNĐ2 billion (US$74,000) in cash stuffed inside a plastic bag in the rear of the car he was a passenger in and a further VNĐ35 million ($1,350) in his pocket.

Another man, Sarfaraz Sardarzehi, 58, from London, was also found guilty of people smuggling and money laundering.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) say Ta had more of an organiser role, while Sardarzehi was a ‘taxi driver’, moving migrants once they were in the UK and also cash for the group.

The group communicated over encrypted social media apps and used slang when discussing their criminality, in an effort to remain undetected.

Migrants were referred to as ‘siblings’, ‘chicken’, ‘pork’ or ‘things’, police as ‘dogs’, refrigerated trucks as ‘fridges’, ferries as going by ‘water’, money as ‘paper’ and vehicles as ‘horses’.

NCA senior investigating officer David Cushway said: “They placed these people at enormous risk by putting them in HGVs, with the language they used to describe them indicative of the disdain they held them in.”

The crime group the pair belonged to hid migrants in the backs of lorries which travelled to the UK via ferries or the Channel Tunnel. Once in the UK, the migrants were quickly transferred by car away from the south coast, reducing the risk of being caught by Border Force officers.

A phone seized by law enforcement was later forensically examined and showed messages from Ta about a large amount of cash a few hours before his arrest.

These showed that he was heading to Kent to hand the money to co-conspirators who had arranged for a number of migrants to be smuggled into the UK in the back of an HGV.

It appears that the plan had been for the immigrants to be delivered to Gillingham where they would then be taken away to safe houses elsewhere in the UK in cars.

The migrants paid significant amounts of money for the crossings, and were kept in safe houses, mostly in Belgium, until space became available for them in the back of a lorry.

Ta worked with the wider crime group to match would-be immigrants with slots in lorries which were about to cross from Europe to the UK. He acted like an agent or operations manager, organising drivers, lorries, safe houses and immigrants.

Sarfaraz Sardarzehi, 58, from London, was a ‘taxi driver’, moving migrants once they were in the UK.

Ta and Sardarzehi were found guilty of people smuggling and money laundering charges by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court today (Monday 23 February) following a three-week trial. Both men have been bailed to appear at the same court for sentencing on 10 July.

David Cushway of the NCA added: “Ta and Sardarzehi were part of an organised immigration crime group that exploited migrants at every step of their dangerous journeys to the UK, all for the sake of profit.

“They placed these people at enormous risk by putting them in HGVs, with the language they used to describe them indicative of the disdain they held them in.

“Cases like these harden the National Crime Agency’s resolve to bring individuals like Ta and Sardarzehi before the courts and disrupt the organised crime groups behind this evil trade.” VNS