Smuggler who trafficked thousands of migrants across Mediterranean jailed for 25 years
20 May 2025, 11:53 | Updated: 20 May 2025, 12:55
A people smuggler who helped "ruthlessly and cynically" exploit migrants as part of a £12 million illegal boat crossing operation has been jailed for 25 years.
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Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Ebid, a 42-year-old Egyptian national, was detained in Hounslow, west London, in June 2023.
He is believed to be the first person convicted in the UK of organising Mediterranean boat crossings from North Africa to Europe.
Working with law enforcement partners in Italy, the National Crime Agency (NCA) was able to link Ebid to at least seven dangerous crossings from Libya between October 2022 and June 2023, which carried nearly 3,800 migrants — including women and children — into Italian waters. Some later travelled on to the UK.
Ebid was a key figure within a sophisticated smuggling network operating in North Africa, where he helped organise the movement of hundreds of people at a time using overcrowded and unseaworthy fishing boats.
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Each migrant was typically charged around £3,200, generating more than £12 million for the criminals involved.
On a number of occasions, Ebid maintained real-time communication with criminal associates during the crossings. In one chilling exchange, recorded by NCA surveillance officers, he instructed an associate that any migrant found with a mobile phone should be killed and thrown into the sea in order to avoid law enforcement detection.
“Tell them guys anyone caught with a phone will be killed, threw in the sea,” he said.
In October 2022, more than 640 migrants were rescued by Italian authorities from a wooden boat launched from Libya. Two bodies were recovered from the vessel.
Another incident in December that year saw 265 people rescued from a 20-metre fishing boat found adrift after departing Benghazi.
Two further rescue operations in April 2023 followed distress calls from overcrowded vessels, each carrying more than 600 migrants.
Following a joint investigation with the Italian Guardia di Finanza and Italian Coastguard, Ebid was arrested and charged.
A phone seized at the time contained images of boats, messages about the purchase of vessels, videos of crossings, and evidence of money transfers.
Ebid pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration in October 2023, but claimed he played only a minor role.
That claim was rejected following a Newton hearing at Southwark Crown Court, where the judge found he had a “significant managerial role within an organised crime group”. On Tuesday 20 May, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Judge Adam Hiddleston told Ebid: “The conspiracy that you were a part of generated millions of pounds. Your primary motivation was to make money out of human trafficking. The truly staggering amounts involved came from the hard-earned savings of desperate individuals, who were ruthlessly and cynically exploited by you and your group.”
NCA Regional Head of Investigation Jacque Beer said: “Ebid was part of a crime network who preyed upon the desperation of migrants to ship them across the Mediterranean in death trap boats. The cruel nature of his business was demonstrated by the callous way he spoke of throwing migrants into the sea if they didn’t follow his rules. To him, they were just a source of profit.
“He was based in the UK but organising crossings from North Africa. A proportion of those he moved to Italy would also have ended up in northern Europe, attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.
“Working with our partners in Italy we were able to evidence his role in organising boats and the migrants to go in them. People smuggling is an international crime and, working with our partners both home and abroad, we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved.”
Tim Burton, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Ahmed Ebid played a leading role in a sophisticated operation, which breached immigration laws and endangered lives, for his own and others’ financial gain. Vulnerable people were transported on long sea journeys in ill-equipped fishing vessels completely unsuitable for carrying the large number of passengers who were on board.
“His repeated involvement in helping to facilitate these dangerous crossings showed a complete disregard for the safety of thousands of people, whose lives were put at serious risk.”
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, added: “For too long our borders have been undermined by vile people smuggling gangs putting lives at risk for cash. Ebid and his associates preyed on vulnerable individuals, with hundreds being crammed onto dangerous boats and charged an extortionate fee for their transport.
“I would like to thank the tireless work and dedication from the NCA in dismantling Ebid’s criminal organisation, working hand in glove with our international partners to save lives and protect our borders.
“This government has introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to strengthen the UK’s border security, introducing new counter-terror style powers for law enforcement enabling earlier and faster disruption of organised crime. We are steadfast in our mission to protect lives and ensure criminal gangs face the full force of the law.”
