BBC unmasks key people smuggler in network behind most small boat crossings

A leading people smuggler whose network is believed to be responsible for most illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years has been unmasked by a BBC investigation.

The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd has evaded arrest for several years by operating under the pseudonym “Kardo Ranya.” He kept his real name a closely guarded secret, frustrating law enforcement efforts to obtain an international arrest warrant for him.

The lack of information about Kardo Ranya’s real name has also made it difficult for individual police forces in Europe to track his whereabouts or follow leads beyond their borders.

But using our contacts in the smuggling world, my colleague Rob Lawrie and I were able to follow the trail from migrant camps on the coast of Northern France to Iraqi Kurdistan, obtain Kardo Ranya’s true identity and details, and eventually confront him. The story of this quest is told as follows: new BBC Radio 4 podcast, Intrigue: To Catch a King.

Kardo Ranya is believed to be running a smuggling operation on routes from Afghanistan to the UK.

He took his nickname from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan where he is believed to have come from. According to him, it is an autonomously governed region “full of active smuggling networks.” 2024 report by international relations think tank Chatham House.

“We can say that the majority of the small boat crime business model is controlled by the Kurds,” said Dan Cannatella-Barcroft, deputy director of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

He added that some smugglers coming from or operating in Ranya have recently been targeted by the NCA.

This echoed what we heard from a smuggler in a French migrant camp who said that the network that controlled the cross-Channel trade was often referred to as the Ranya Boys.

Kardo Ranya’s real name may be a secret, but he has not hesitated to show his face while advertising his services as a smuggler on social media platforms. It has also published videos luring customers with luxurious views of London and testimonials from apparently satisfied customers who have already made the trip to the UK.

A former smuggler told us Kardo Ranya’s network charged around €17,000 (£15,000) to transport one migrant from Iraq to the UK. Although this price is generally higher than its competitors, the network claims to offer a safer ride (and VIP service for those who can pay). “[Kardo Ranya] “He charges more,” the former smuggler said, “but the immigrant still goes to him.”

But the long journey across the Middle East and Europe is both illegal and unsafe at almost every step. It has proven fatal for many immigrants.

Small craft crossings have become the most common way of detecting people entering the UK illegally since 2020. Almost all of those who arrive this way seek asylum, saying they cannot live safely in their home countries due to persecution or violence.

Almost all of those traveling along the canal are under the age of 40. Between 2018 and 2025, almost nine in 10 people arriving on small boats were men and boys.

As of December 2025, there were 103,426 people in shelters, including hotels, multi-occupation homes (HMOs), or former military sites.

Click here to see the BBC interactive

In a French refugee camp, we heard the story of a young man named Shwana from Ranya, who made the journey from Iraqi Kurdistan to the English Channel last year.

The 24-year-old man is known to have reached the coast of Northern France in November, where he was one of about 100 people put on a boat that could carry fewer than 20 people. According to a fellow passenger, the smugglers pushed them into the sea but they remained ashore.

The ship began to sink in the middle of the voyage. Most of the passengers were picked up by the coastguard patrol and sent back to France, but four people, including Shwana, appear to have disappeared into the darkness. His body was never found.

According to Shwana’s fellow passenger, who showed us a mobile phone number used by the smugglers, the crossing had been coordinated via a WhatsApp group. It was also a number featured in one of Kardo Ranya’s social media advertisements.

We then had the opportunity to talk to Shwana’s family in Ranya town. They say he is influenced by such advertising which disrupts the idea of ​​a more prosperous life in the UK.

High unemployment rates and a lack of hope in Iraqi Kurdistan have made it easy for gangs to persuade young people to gamble everything on a trip to mainland Europe and the UK.

“The voice of the smugglers is louder than the voice of the media and the voice of the government,” Dr Hemn Merany, the region’s interior minister, told us.

But there are many families in Ranya, like Shwana’s, who are mourning the loss of loved ones, and there is some evidence that people are becoming more willing to speak out against the smuggling trade.

A small museum has been established in the town, dedicated to the memory of all the local people who died during the boat crossings. Its walls are covered with hundreds of photographs.

The museum’s owner, Bakra Ali, now requires 24-hour police protection due to death threats from local smugglers, but he remains defiant.

When we showed him Kardo Ranya’s photo, Ali recognized him instantly. He said he didn’t know the man’s real name, but he gave us contact information for some low-level smugglers he said he knew of.

We messaged one of them on WhatsApp. He responded first by text message, then by phone.

He claimed that he and Kardo Ranya were closer than siblings, which made us wonder why he called us. We thought he wanted to take a leadership role in the gang and saw our investigation as a way to replace his boss.

After a few days of back and forth, Rob received a text message: “Are you ready?”

The screen turned off and stayed that way for 15 minutes. Then it became clear. A document emerged containing Kardo Ranya’s photo, date of birth and, most importantly, his real name, Kardo Muhammad Amen Jaf.

We decided it was time to take the human trafficking allegations to the man himself.

During our investigation, we were given a WhatsApp number where Kardo Ranya and his friends were said to be running his business. Our translator called the number and pretended to be an expat with money to fly his whole family to the UK.

Speaking to someone on the phone he said the VIP service would cost £160,000. The flight was reportedly destined for an airport outside London, apparently for security reasons. Then someone would pick up the family and take them where they needed to be.

Our translator said that he would consider the offer, but his wife was uneasy. He left our number, hoping that the lure of a big discount would encourage Jaf to call back.

A few days later, that’s exactly what happened.

When Jaf answered the call, we told him what we found about his business. He denied being a smuggler, adding that he was merely advising people on how to leave Iraq and did not believe he committed any crime.

We then asked Jaf about his role in the Channel crossing where Shwana disappeared. He admitted that he knew one of the people on the boat had not been found, but claimed it had nothing to do with him.

Jaf then hung up the phone. The number from which he called us has since been disconnected.

Meanwhile, one of his collaborators was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in France.

Like Jaf, Noah Aaron was a member of the Ranya Boys and had been active in sending illegal immigrants to the UK since 2019.

Aaron was found guilty of a number of crimes, including money laundering and organizing the “unlawful entry, movement or stay of a foreign person”.

Despite being wanted in multiple countries and linked to two deaths in the English Channel, he had managed to move between the UK and Europe undetected for several years.

The Immigration Services Association says some information about potential criminals has become harder to come by since Brexit.

“We’re not in Europe anymore, we no longer have data sharing agreements with many countries in Europe. So we don’t see a lower level.” [criminal] records,” the union’s Lucy Moreton told BBC Radio 4.

“We also can’t see immigration records. Where once we could know whether someone had sought asylum elsewhere in Europe and failed, or even whether they were successful… we no longer have access to that data.”

Crossing the border undetected may become much more difficult for Jaf in the future, now his real name has been revealed by our research. Although his current whereabouts are unknown, he is currently wanted for questioning by at least one European police force.

Postscript by Ben Milne

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