Twenty-seven members of a network of Iraqi smugglers were sentenced Thursday, March 24 "
to prison terms of between 18 months and 7 years for the offenses of helping to enter and stay in an organized gang and money laundering in organized gang
, "said the Rennes prosecutor's office.
Read alsoTwenty-four migrant smugglers using motorway rest areas tried in Rennes
Of the 30 defendants, aged 22 to 53, three of them were released.
Nineteen "
were kept in detention and 6 arrest warrants were issued for those absent
", according to the press release from the prosecution.
“
As an additional penalty, 24 permanent bans from French territory were also pronounced against the convicted persons
,” said the public prosecutor, Philippe Astruc.
“
The offense of trafficking in human beings in an organized gang
” was “
not retained at the end of the debates
”, indicates the magistrate.
Nearly 10,000 migrants taken care of
Twenty-four people of Iraqi nationality appeared from March 10 before the Rennes criminal court for smuggling migrants to Great Britain, sometimes transported in refrigerated trucks from motorway service areas in central France.
The facts judged occurred between 2018 and 2020. On the first day of the trial, the president of the court assessed the amount collected by the network at around 70 million euros, and at around 10,000 the number of migrants taken care of, including children, at a rate of up to 500 per month.
The smugglers, Kurds from Iraq, first brought the illegal immigrants, mainly compatriots, to the Dunkirk region.
The latter were then driven by car, or took the train alone to go to Sarthe, Indre-et-Loire or Vienne.
The illegal immigrants had the choice between two “
formulas
”, normal or “
VIP
”.
They could get into the trucks without the knowledge of the drivers for 5,000 pounds (about 6,000 euros).
The second “
formula
” consisted of getting them on board with the complicity of the drivers, most of them from Eastern European countries, for 8,000 to 11,000 euros.
The latter could then arrange caches for them in their vehicles.
Read alsoDismantling of a network of smugglers to Great Britain
Judicial information was opened in December 2018 after referral to the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Rennes (Jirs), in particular for "
trafficking in human beings
" and "
aiding the irregular entry, movement or stay of a foreigner in the territory
”.