Human Trafficker
An Egyptian national has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United Kingdom for his central role in one of the largest human smuggling operations uncovered in recent years.
Ahmed Ebid, 42, a fisherman by trade, was convicted of orchestrating the illegal movement of more than 3,800 migrants from North Africa to Europe as part of a criminal network responsible for a £12 million operation.
According to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Ebid coordinated dangerous boat crossings across the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023.
Some migrants from these crossings later continued their journeys to the United Kingdom. Ebid is now the first person in the UK to be convicted for smuggling people across the Mediterranean from Africa to Italy.
Ebid, who had previously served a five-year prison sentence in Italy for attempted drug smuggling, entered the UK via a small boat in 2022. He later applied for asylum and remained in legal limbo, residing in Home Office-funded accommodation in southwest London while his application remained unresolved. He was arrested in 2023 following an international investigation involving Italian security services and the NCA.
Authorities tracked satellite phone usage on boats carrying migrants across the Mediterranean, discovering that some calls made to Italian coastguards had been connected to a UK mobile number. This number was traced to Ebid. Further surveillance, including bugging his home, revealed his managerial role in coordinating smuggling operations.
He not only organized the crossings but also bribed officials and issued violent threats to migrants, including ordering associates to throw individuals overboard if they were caught with mobile phones.
At his sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Adam Hiddleston condemned Ebid’s actions, saying, “This was a commercial enterprise, pure and simple. The risk of loss of life was considerable. These were fishing boats, not ferries.” The judge noted that Ebid exploited desperate individuals for profit, adding, “The treatment of migrants was horrifying.”
Despite Ebid’s claim during sentencing that he was trying to save money to bring his family to the UK, evidence showed a different picture. Notebooks seized from his home contained navigation data for the Mediterranean and detailed financial records related to smuggling operations. His social media profile even referred to him as “Captain Ahmed.”
Following the conviction, the NCA’s 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.”
Ebid now faces likely deportation once he completes his sentence. His case underscores the serious human cost and ruthless exploitation inherent in transnational smuggling networks.
