A member of an Afghan trafficking gang that smuggled young boys into the UK on small boats before raping and blackmailing them with the footage has been kicked out of the country.
Zeeshan Banghis – also known as Bangash – and Saifur Rahman Ahmedzai were arrested by National Crime Agency extradition officers in December 2024 after a Belgian judge jailed them in their absence.
Banghis, 21, was sentenced to three years in jail in November 2024 and will now be extradited to Belgium to serve his sentence following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Ahmedzai, 24, was jailed for ten years in November 2024 and was extradited to Belgium last June to serve his sentence. Both men were fined 3,000 euros (£2,601).
The pair of Afghan national’s played a part in the gang by helping organise the transport of migrants from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey and the Balkans into western Europe, including France and Belgium.
Many would be put on small boats from northern France to the UK, with the gang suspected of transporting thousands of people this way.
Other members of the group filmed themselves raping young migrants so they could use the footage to blackmail them into criminality and further sexual abuse.
In November 2024, a court in Antwerp convicted and sentenced Banghis and Ahmedzai, along with 21 other gang members, to a total of 170 years imprisonment, with sentences ranging from two to 18 years.
Eleven members were tried in their absence, including the two men arrested in the UK.
Two gang members were convicted of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and six other members were also sentenced for possession of indecent images of children.
Zeeshan Banghis (pictured), 21, was sentenced to three years in jail in November 2024 and will now be extradited to Belgium to serve his sentence following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
Saifur Rahman Ahmedzai (pictured), 24, was jailed for ten years in November 2024 and was extradited to Belgium last June to serve his sentence
Ahmedzai was apprehended by NCA extradition officers in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, on December 30, 2024.
Banghis was arrested at an address on New Kent Road, Southwark, on December 18, 2024.
NCA investigators have supported the Belgian investigation for around two years, supplying intelligence and evidence to the Belgian Federal Police around suspected members of the network.
Officers also worked with Border Force and Immigration Enforcement to identify and conduct safeguarding checks for migrants and victims of the network who had been transported to the UK.
Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s National Extradition Unit, said: ‘This gang operated across the globe and piled misery on migrants they transported, all for the sake of making a profit.
‘Many of these people would have been extremely vulnerable, which makes it all the more shocking that disgraceful sexual offences were committed against some of them.
‘Our joint investigation with Belgian law enforcement is another example of international action succeeding against a global threat.
‘These extraditions display a very strong message that work to disrupt and dismantle the gangs behind this horrendous trade will never slow down.’
Footage from the National Crime Agency (NCA) shows Zeeshan Banghis being arrested
Footage from the National Crime Agency (NCA) shows Saifur Ahmedzai being arrested on December 23, 2024, at an address in Hemel Hempstead
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, earlier said: ‘This case is nothing short of sickening.
‘These men ran extensive illegal smuggling operations and inflicted extreme cruelty on the migrants they smuggled – some of them children – when they were at their most vulnerable.
‘I am grateful to the NCA, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement officers, for their hard work and dedication in pursuing these vile criminal gangs, safeguarding victims of exploitation and protecting our borders.
‘As part of the Government’s Plan for Change to strengthen our borders, we are working ever more closely with international partners to track down dangerous criminal networks like these, disrupt their activities and ensure they face the full force of the law, to protect people and save lives.
‘In recent weeks we’ve agreed landmark new deals with Iraq and Germany, pledging mutual support and co-operation to tackle this shared challenge.
‘At the Calais Group meeting with European partners too, we agreed to enhance our joint efforts to end this dangerous trade.
‘Through this closer international collaboration, joint work between law enforcement agencies, new legislation, and the £150 million cash investment in the Border Security Command, we are making clear we will stop at nothing to protect our borders from people-smuggling gangs.’
