A convicted Iraqi human trafficker identified as Twana Jamal was traced to the village of Blaby in Leicestershire, where he was allegedly living under a false identity while awaiting a decision on his UK asylum claim.
According to a BBC investigation, he was found working illegally in a shop, driving without a licence and using a false name, even though he had already served a five-year prison sentence in France for running a migrant-smuggling network across the English Channel.
His presence in Britain has renewed scrutiny of the asylum process and the checks applied to applicants with serious overseas convictions.
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🇬🇧 This is Twana Jamal, one of the most prolific people smugglers in Europe, convicted of making well over a million dollars bringing illegal migrants into Europe.
Now he’s claiming asylum in the UK, and instead of promptly kicking him out of the nation, they’re going to give…— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 2, 2026
A trade built in the shadows
French authorities arrested Jamal in 2016, and prosecutors described him as one of the most successful migrant smugglers they had encountered.
They alleged that he earned up to £100,000 a week by charging migrants around £4,500 each to move them from northern France to Britain. Prosecutors also said he operated from the Grand Synthe migrant camp near Dunkirk from around 2012 and became the “go-to” contact for people hoping to reach the UK.
His network was said to move about 80 migrants every month, and investigators told the court that he initially evaded detection by hiding migrants in trucks carrying onions and cheese, where carbon-dioxide emissions made people harder to detect.
The past catches up, rather inevitably
Jamal was known in the camps as “Pasha”, a Turkish title used for someone of high rank. It also says he was expected to face deportation to Iraq’s Kurdistan region after completing his sentence but was later found living in Leicestershire.
When approached, he denied involvement in human trafficking and said he had lived in the UK since 2009 and had applied for asylum but was “still waiting”. Asked about a photograph of himself in a French courtroom from his 2016 trial, he reportedly replied, “I don’t care.”
The BBC’s investigation into convicted people smuggler Twana Jamal raises serious questions about border security and the integrity of our asylum system.
We need urgent clarity on how this case happened, what action is being taken, and how we will stop serious criminals abusing… pic.twitter.com/uYZzmqiOZr— Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP (@DrNShastriHurst) July 2, 2026
Words that raised awkward questions
A separate investigative phone call, made under a false pretext, captured Jamal claiming that he was living in Leicester and boasting about his influence.
“We know everyone in this city; this city is ours,” he said, adding that he was “making good money” and that “no one touches us here”, while also saying, “Even the police won’t stop you.” Under UK immigration rules, people sentenced to at least one year in prison overseas should normally have their asylum claims refused, and Jamal’s pending application has prompted questions about how his case progressed.
Responding to the investigation, a UK Home Office spokesperson said, “All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks.”
Another chapter in the investigation
The case surfaced during a wider investigation that also led to the arrest of alleged people smuggler Kardo Jaf, whom investigators believe headed an international trafficking network stretching from Afghanistan to the UK.
Jaf used the alias “Kardo Ranya”, making it harder for police to issue an international arrest warrant using his real identity. Jaf, who is also believed to be from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, denied being a people smuggler and said he had only advised people on how to leave Iraq.
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FAQs
Q1: Who is Twana Jamal and why is he in the news?
Ans: Twana Jamal is an Iraqi man convicted in France for migrant smuggling who was found in the UK while awaiting a decision on his asylum application.
Q2: Why has Twana Jamal’s UK asylum case sparked controversy?
Ans: The case has drawn attention because UK immigration rules generally require asylum claims to be refused for people sentenced to at least one year in prison overseas.
