Three arrested in Iraq over alleged UK people smuggling links
Zada, from Preston in Lancashire, was linked to three separate crossings from France in 2023 involving Kurdish migrants who had travelled through eastern Europe.
The 34-year-old Iranian national was convicted on three counts of facilitating illegal immigration and jailed for 17 years in November.
According to the NCA, Zada used social media to advertise his services, sometimes posting videos of those he had successfully smuggled thanking him for his help.
Another video posted to YouTube, thought to have been recorded in Iraq in 2021, showed Zada at a party where he was celebrated as “the best smuggler” in a song performed by Kurdish musicians.
NCA branch commander Martin Clarke, who was among those who were deployed to KRI, said people smuggling gangs were “risking the lives of those they transport, feeding them lies via their social media channels, and claiming journeys are one hundred per cent safe”.
He added: “More than 70 people lost their lives attempting to cross the Channel in small boats in 2024, so this trade must stop.”
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