Watch: People smuggler tracked down and confronted by BBC

A BBC investigation can reveal that convicted people smuggler Twana Jamal, once described as the “godfather” of French migrant camps, was living and working in Leicestershire and was believed to be seeking asylum.

Jamal was sentenced to five years in prison in France in 2016. Following a tip this year, the BBC tracked Jamal to Blaby in Leicestershire; We witnessed him working here illegally, driving without a license, and apparently using a fake name.

We have also been told by law enforcement officials in mainland Europe that 15 other convicted traffickers are currently living in the UK under assumed names; This raises serious concerns about whether current border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who commit serious crimes abroad.

The Home Office told the BBC: “All asylum seekers are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purposes of immigration, security and criminality checks,” adding that the UK has “a number of agreements with countries that allow for the sharing of criminal record information” and that immigration enforcement is currently at the highest level in history.

You can hear the full story now: Search ‘To Catch a King’ on BBC Sounds