Yacht Crash Exposes Major UK People Smuggling Ring
NCA investigators uncover shocking cross-Channel trafficking empire run by London ringleader after yacht packed with migrants runs aground off the Sussex coast.
A prolific people smuggler has been found responsible for transporting hundreds of migrants into the United Kingdom using a network of small boats, HGVs and even a yacht which ultimately ran aground on the Sussex coast.
A jury at Maidstone Crown Court ruled that Mohammed Ali Nareman, 37, of London, had committed multiple offences of people smuggling following a detailed trial of facts ordered after a judge found him unfit to stand trial due to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and panic attacks. The ruling means that although he cannot be formally convicted in the conventional sense, the jury’s findings confirm his role in an extensive criminal enterprise spanning several countries.
The case, led by the National Crime Agency, began with an incident on 12 February 2022, when a 20-foot blue yacht ran aground near Rye Harbour, East Sussex. Footage later recovered showed people jumping from the vessel as it began to list in the water. Within two hours, Border Force officers detained 14 migrants – including two children – from Iran, Iraq and Albania. Videos taken on board revealed passengers referring to themselves as “Hama Kalari’s passengers”, a name investigators later confirmed was one of Nareman’s aliases.
Detectives from the NCA quickly traced one of the migrants’ phone records to Nareman, prompting his arrest at his London home in April 2023. Searches uncovered extensive evidence linking him to the organisation of multiple illegal crossings.
His phone contained images of maps detailing both French and British coastlines, photographs of migrant passports, messages directing individuals to his home address, and a video showing him holding bundles of cash totalling £50,000. Investigators also discovered messages detailing prices for crossings, logistical arrangements for HGV concealments, and disputes with other smugglers over failed attempts.
Further analysis linked Nareman to a second man, Ali Omar Karim, 47, from Portsmouth, who was identified as a controlling figure within a wider European network moving people from Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo, Bosnia and other nations through Romania and Hungary. Karim’s phone revealed communications outlining payments of between £800 and £1,000 for entry into the European Union, with significantly higher sums charged for the final leg across the Channel to Britain.
Messages recovered by the NCA showed the pair discussing multiple smuggling attempts, including one in November 2022 involving an HGV crossing for which migrants were charged £1,650 each. On 17 November that year, French authorities intercepted a lorry at Calais, discovering two Iraqi nationals hidden in the trailer.
Another conversation revealed Nareman’s contempt for those he transported. When informed that migrants were drinking alcohol during a crossing, he told Karim to “just kick him in his head and then kick him to the dinghy.”
Evidence also showed the men discussing weather conditions and calculating risk levels for crossings. In one translated message, Nareman reassured Karim that “you will see the wind is low, there is no problem at all for after tomorrow – even the dinghy can go.” The scale of their operation was underlined by repeated references to multiple dinghies and simultaneous runs across the Channel.
A second mobile phone found hidden under a child’s play tent at Nareman’s home contained additional footage and messages further implicating him in the trafficking network. Digital analysis confirmed his movements to Rye on the day of the yacht grounding, corroborating his direct involvement in that operation.
Karim was arrested in Portsmouth in March 2024 and pleaded guilty to people smuggling offences in June of that year. Both men will remain in custody pending sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court on 8 January 2026.
Rachel Bramley, from the National Crime Agency, described Nareman as “extremely prolific in the criminal world of people smuggling.” She said the group’s communications revealed a complete disregard for the welfare of those they transported, treating them purely as a means of profit.
The agency’s digital investigation, she said, exposed months of coordinated activity, “sharing routes and prices, receiving praise in videos from migrants on their crossings and boasting of the proceeds they made.”
The NCA confirmed that tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority, with around 100 ongoing investigations into high-harm individuals and networks operating at the upper tiers of the trade. The case against Nareman and Karim forms part of that continuing effort to dismantle organised criminal groups profiting from illegal migration.
