The United Kingdom today imposed sanctions on the Skaljar and Kavač clans, a number of members of these clans, as well as individuals who claim to be aiding or cooperating with these criminal groups.
A statement from the British Embassy in Podgorica states that the United Kingdom is imposing sanctions on 25 key individuals and entities in people smuggling networks that encourage irregular migration to the United Kingdom.
"The sanctions come into effect immediately. This is a new, first-of-its-kind sanctions regime in the world targeting irregular migration and organised immigration crime. This action represents the latest step in the British government's campaign to protect its borders and reduce irregular migration," the statement said.
The British Embassy has provided a list of individuals and entities that have been sanctioned today:
- The Kavač criminal group – known for using fake passports to smuggle members between the Balkans and Turkey.
- The Skaljari criminal group – smuggles criminals between the Balkans and Turkey.
- Dalibor Ćurlik – procures fake passports for the Kavač criminal group.
- Almir Jahović – member of the Kavač criminal group, involved in the procurement of false documents.
- Marko Petrović – member of the Kavač criminal group who provides false identification.
- Nikola Vein – helps the criminal group Škaljari in obtaining false documents.
- Ratko Živković – an associate of the Škaljari criminal group, procures fake passports.
- Dejan Pavlović – member or close associate of the Škaljari criminal group, involved in creating false identities.
Gang leaders:
- Bledar Lala – runs a smuggling network from Belgium across the English Channel.
- Alen Basil – a former police translator who became the leader of a large smuggling network through violence.
- Muhamed Tetvani – leader of the Tetvani criminal group and self-proclaimed "King of Horgoš".
- Jasin El Magribi El-Kasaoui – leader of the criminal group Kazavi.
North African gangs operating in the Balkans:
- The Kazavi criminal group – a network of smugglers from North Africa to the EU, known for brutal treatment of migrants who cannot pay.
- The Tetvani criminal group – one of the most violent smuggling groups in the Balkans, known for kidnapping and sexually abusing women who cannot pay.
Human smuggling linked to Iraq:
- Goran Asad Jalal – a member of an organised crime group that hid migrants in refrigerated trucks that crossed the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom at least ten times between January and March 2019.
- Hemin Ali Salih – assisted in smuggling migrants in trucks.
- Dedavan Dazey – a smuggler who runs safe houses for migrants in northern France before they are smuggled into the United Kingdom.
- Roman Raniaje – an Iraqi smuggler responsible for smuggling migrants from Asia to Europe.
- Azad Khoshnav – provided rubber boats, outboard motors and other maritime equipment to smuggle migrants from France to the UK.
- Nouzad Hoshnav – equipped criminal groups in northern France with maritime smuggling equipment.
- Nihad Mohsin Khoshnav – provided boats and motorbikes that migrants use to cross the English Channel.
Havala network:
- Muhamed Hadir Pirot – hawala banker who controls payments for smuggling from Iraqi Kurdistan to Europe via Turkey.
- Marivan Jamal – manages money transfers through the hawala payment system for smugglers.
- Rafik Shaklavy – an advisor to migrants for paying smugglers through the hawala network.
The British Embassy said that leaders of criminal groups, key intermediaries and suppliers of equipment for people smuggling, are today the targets of the first sanctions that the United Kingdom is introducing with the aim of combating irregular migration.
"The sanctions target individuals and entities involved in people smuggling and the facilitation of irregular migration to the UK – from boat suppliers in Asia, to informal hawala money transmitters in the Middle East, to leaders of criminal groups in the Balkans and North Africa. They cover a range of activities – from supplying boats for smuggling, to procuring false passports, to intermediaries facilitating illegal payments through the hawala system, to people smuggling by truck and boat, to the leaders of the criminal groups themselves. The sanctions can disrupt the flow of money and materials – including freezing property, bank accounts and other assets – that enable organised crime groups to carry out this nefarious trade," the British Embassy said.
The statement said today's appointments are the first to be made under the UK's new Global Sanctions Regime for Irregular Migration.
"This regime is the first of its kind in the world and gives the British Foreign Office the authority to impose sanctions not only on individuals and entities involved in people smuggling to the United Kingdom, but also on financiers and companies that enable their activities," the British Embassy said in a statement.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy He said that this was a historic moment in the British government's efforts to tackle organised immigration crime, reduce irregular migration to the UK and implement the British Government's Change Plan.
"From Europe to Asia, we are taking on the people smugglers who facilitate irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are and forcing them to pay for their actions. My message to the criminal groups that callously endanger the lives of vulnerable people for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with partners around the world to bring you to justice," said Lamy.
The British Embassy said that among those sanctioned today is Bledar Lala, an Albanian member of a criminal group that controls "operations in Belgium" that smuggle migrants from Belgium across the English Channel to the United Kingdom.
"Sanctions have also been imposed on a Chinese company that advertised boats specifically for people smuggling on an online platform. These boats are the same ones used by criminal groups to transport migrants across the English Channel, often at great risk. The United Kingdom has also imposed sanctions on Alain Basil, a former police translator who became the leader of a large smuggling network in Serbia, terrorizing refugees with the help of corrupt police officers. Basil was later found in a house in Serbia worth more than a million euros, bought with money extorted from desperate migrants. Muhamed Tetvani, the self-proclaimed 'King of Horgoš', who brutally ran a migrant camp in Horgoš, Serbia, and led the Tetvani smuggling gang, was also sanctioned. Tetvani and his associates are known for their violent treatment of refugees who refuse their services or cannot pay them," the statement reads.
The British Embassy said today's sanctions package also includes Muhamed Hadir Pirot, a hawala banker involved in informal money transfer networks used by smugglers to extort money from migrants.
"All those sanctioned today have been publicly named and are banned from doing business with the UK financial system, further complicating their operations," the statement said.
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