A Gambian crime lord who orchestrated a sophisticated fake passport scam netting over £1 million has been handed an additional prison sentence. Lamin Manneh, 51, already serving time for facilitating illegal entry, received a further six years and eight months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.
The Scale of the Operation
The gang provided a complete service for migrants seeking illegal entry to the UK, including forged travel documents, flight bookings, airport pickups, and accommodation and job placement. They obtained genuine Gambian passports with British visas and replaced the biometric page photos with those of their clients. In one instance, they reused a dead man's passport to bring three people into the country by changing the photo each time.
Manneh's mobile phone contained images of 559 unique passports, although the exact number of illegal entries between January 2022 and July 2025 remains unknown, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Sentences Handed Down
Eight gang members were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court. Alongside Manneh, Alieu Barry, 31, received six years; Mariama Jallow, 46, got four years and 11 months; Ida Chow, 40, was jailed for three years and eight months; Musu Sanyang, 49, for two years and seven months; Pa Sanneh, 44, for two years and one month; and Sulayman Samateh, 46, for three years. Dodou Cham, 31, received a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work.
All pleaded guilty to facilitating unlawful immigration. Manneh, Barry, Jallow, and Chow also admitted money laundering.
How the Plot Unraveled
The scheme began to collapse in early 2024 when a man was stopped at Manchester Airport using the passport of a Gambian who had been burgled two years earlier. The traveler admitted paying £5,200 for the fake documents and travel arrangements.
Specialist CPS prosecutor Robert Warner said: “This was a sophisticated plot that brought hundreds of people to the UK who had no legal right to be here. Lamin Manneh and his gang charged their customers thousands of pounds and offered a one stop shop for migrants seeking to enter the UK illegally. They provided fake travel documents, booked flights, and found migrants accommodation and jobs.”
Government Response
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, commented: “This government is going after the gangs exploiting our borders for their own profit. With disruptions to smuggling activity including arrests, convictions and seizures up by nearly 50%, we’re putting these criminals behind bars where they belong.”
The CPS will pursue confiscation proceedings against Manneh, Barry, Jallow, and Chow to recover the substantial profits from their crimes.
