Calais smuggling boss found working in English village

A convicted people smuggler, Twana Jamal, was found living and working in a Leicestershire village while he was seeking asylum in the UK. Jamal had already been convicted in France and was able to put down roots in England and stay out of official sight long enough for investigators to track him down.

The migrant crisis around Calais centered on the port and the 31-mile, 50km Channel Tunnel link to England, and the 2016 clearance of the so-called Jungle camp involved about 7,000 migrants. Illegal entry blocks criminal-record and security checks, leaving authorities without a clear picture of who has arrived or what risk they may pose.

In August 2024, the government planned to recruit 100 specialist intelligence and investigation officers for the National Crime Agency to target smuggling gangs. In January 2025, Labour’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill proposed counter-terror-style powers, including interim orders on suspected smugglers before charge and restrictions on phones, finances and associations. The legislation later became the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025.

In November 2024, a French court in Lille jailed 18 people for forming a large Channel-smuggling gang, with sentences of up to 15 years. In June 2025, nine smugglers were sentenced over a 2022 crossing that left four people dead and four missing. Only 21 foreign nationals were removed from the UK under post-Brexit inadmissibility asylum rules.