People smuggler convicted over £1.5 million small boats

A man wearing a black hat, blue sunglasses and a short-sleeved shirt stands behind a car while looking at a phone. A man next to him in a white shirt reaches for the phone. — Pistiwan Jameel, right, was photographed meeting his client Artan Halilaj (NCA).

A ‘prolific’ people smuggler has been jailed after co-ordinating a £1.5million operation to ferry migrants across the English Channel in small boats.

Birmingham-based Pistiwan Jameel called migrants ‘pigeons’ and ‘sticks’ and used his contacts with gangs in France to arrange trips for clients while collecting payments in Britain.

He was arrested after helping Albanian Artan Halilaj, 39, from London, smuggle his relative Fiorentino Halilaj into the country on a small boat in September 2023.

Jameel, 54, of Old Oscott Lane, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on December 20, 2023, to two charges of facilitating illegal immigration.

Fiorentino Halilaj, 25, of no fixed address, admitted one count of the same offence.

Artan Halilaj, of Crosslands in Southall, London, had denied one charge of facilitating illegal immigration but was found guilty after a trial on Tuesday, also at Birmingham Crown Court.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said surveillance officers observed Jameel’s meeting with Artan Halilaj in Birmingham on September 1, 2023.

A mugshot of a balding man with strands of black hair on the back of his head. He wears a dark jacket and a white shirt. — Jameel pleaded guilty to two charges of facilitating illegal immigration (NCA)

After the meeting, where the money was handed over, Jameel called and was heard saying, “My three passengers, all good to go, all okay.”

Fiorentino Halilaj crossed the Channel in a small boat the next day before immigration authorities seized his phone, which was handed over to the NCA and found in the contacts along with Jameel’s number.

Agents were able to listen in on Jameel’s side of conversations he had with colleagues, in which he arranged crossings for his customers.

He also complained about competition in the human smuggling market, which drove down prices. He claimed he had made at least $2 million from criminal networks through his contacts, the NCA said.

A composite of two mugshots: the man on the left has black hair and black facial hair and is wearing a gray top. The man on the right is bald and wearing a white shirt. — Fiorentino Halilaj, left, and Artan Halilaj were convicted of facilitating illegal immigration (NCA)

Paul Jones, operations manager at the NCA branch, said: “It is clear from the evidence we have been able to gather in the course of our investigation that Pistiwan Jameel was a prolific British broker for people smuggling gangs in France.”

He said the true number of crossings facilitated by Jameel would never be known, adding that the evidence showed he had been involved for a “significant period of time”.

The three men will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on December 3.

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